Literally Falling For You
by I Love Snuffles
Summary: Hermione literally falls through time. SBHG i think it's new and interesting bc this isn't another one of those stupid time-turner-gone-wrong fics. doy.
1. Falling Through Time

A/N: it is 1:19 a.m. as I write this. I am sick. I am tired. The next two days of my life are going to be filled with hell and hurt feelings. I HAVE read the fifth book. Which makes this fic an AU since it takes place during fifth year. SB/HG. If you buttheads don't like that, then go screw yourselves because it is 1:21a.m. As I write this. I know. I'm looking from my bright shiny monitor in my black room to my watch back to my bright shiny monitor. My eyes hurt. My fingers hurt. Bloody hell.  
  
......... See what inspiration does to you?  
  
Disclaimer: I no own you morons. Duh.  
  
Summary: even though I have something slightly against the movie(s) I'm basing just a tiny bit of this off of the movie(s). You know how in the first one the camera swoops around and shows the stairways, and a few of them are moving? And how the one Harry and Co. are on moves and connects them to the hall that leads them to where Fluffy the Three Headed Dog is? Well, I got the picture of all of those stairs, all of those floors... stretching down, say looking from one of the stairways above down, ending in darkness deeper than the dungeons, always, stairs cris-crossing everywhere... it helps that I just had a nightmare of falling down the nothingness and about a hairbreadth from impact with a stairway that chose to move out of nowhere under where I was falling, I woke up. And here I am. Writing this. Tomorrow and the day after are going to suck. I hate my life.  
  
Fifth year. Yeah, to hell with the fifth book. This is MY AU.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Hermione Granger ran at top speed, flinging herself around one corner into the place where all of the stairways were. She was late. She was never late, and here she was, trying to get to her Charms class, late.  
  
And, oh look; she wasn't the only one that was late. Ron and Harry were running along right towards her, heading towards history of magic unless their schedules had changed. She was taking more new and different classes now. Which was why she hadn't seen them for the latter part of the day. And which might also explain why all three of them skidded to a halt.  
  
"Oh, hi Hermione!" Ron said brightly. "What class are you off to?"  
  
"Charms. I'm late guys, I really can't chat right now - are you headed toward history of magic?"  
  
"Yeah. What, have you got our schedules memorized?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Came the dry reply.  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
Okay, so Hermione kind of sort of had a crush on Harry. So what?  
  
"My, my, my," drawled a voice out of nowhere, making the trio jump and look 'round. Malfoy stepped out of nowhere. "What have we here, a trio of trespassers, late for class."  
  
Late for class, late for class, late for class... why were Malfoy's words ringing a bell...?  
  
Oh, yeah.  
  
Charms.  
  
Not Harry, /Charms/.  
  
'Oy, Hermione, you idiot!' she thought angrily, brushing between Harry and Ron, intending to go around Malfoy. Draco. Whatever.  
  
He stood in her way.  
  
"Move it you big blond oaf," she snapped (ignoring the choke behind her that belonged to Harry and the snort and barely concealed giggles that belonged to Ron).  
  
"Tut, tut, Granger," Malfoy sneered. "We don't want to be late to class, do we?"  
  
"I said move! I'm in a hurry!"  
  
"No, I think not. I'm rather enjoying seeing you in distress."  
  
Hermione could hear both Harry and Ron make sudden movements behind her, but she didn't have the time for that.  
  
"Fight another time!" she snarled, now more later than anybody had ever been late before. Neville didn't count. "Move it! This is a class that I can't afford to miss!" she made a quick move to the left, feigning it, then dove to the right while Malfoy was distracted and almost lost his balance. Snarling, he whipped around and his hands connected momentarily with Hermione's shoulder and upper arm before they fell away.  
  
Or, more accurately, she fell away. Off the staircase. Headfirst, so that she was looking up at Ron's horrified face, Harry's belated attempt to catch her, Malfoy's look of surprise-turned-triumph.  
  
It took them a moment to figure something out.  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa!" a voice called - Ron's. It didn't work. She was barely a foot from the staircase, seeing as all of this had happened in a split second, and her lips parted open to release a scream.  
  
Still screaming, she grappled hopelessly for her wand, flying down headfirst at an alarming speed, past staircases, almost even hit one that had swung around under her. There were three specks above her, one red, one black, and one blond. She heard other voices shouting her name, but all she could really do was scream in terror, ignore the flow of panicked tears that seemed to sty suspended in the air while she plummeted, grappled at her wand, and watch the staircases swoosh past.  
  
She wrapped her fingers around her wand. Her shoulder hit something - a staircase that had decided o swing around under it, and an ear-splitting crack was heard. Her wand seemed to stay suspended while she fell, along with drops of red. Windows disappeared. Warm air became cooler. Staircases became darker.  
  
A full year must have passed, in which Hermione screamed now in fear and pain. She'd hit the ground soon. And it would kill her.  
  
Blackness. Everything around her was black, she was falling through a chilly blackness, the only source of light a tiny speck above her. It disappeared, and for a moment panic clouded her vision, then a blast of warm air, and bright sunshine forced her to close her eyes, which she quickly opened again. The scream died on her lips.  
  
She was falling. That much was obvious.  
  
Except now, instead of falling through between the many staircases, she was in the air. Outside. Of a bright sun shiny day. Tipping hr head back and narrowing her tear strained eyes against the wind, she saw a building - too close to make out what it was - loom up out of nowhere, and she was abruptly once more falling through between the staircases at Hogwarts. Twisting, and once more screaming, she managed to get into a position close enough to grab at a staircase.  
  
The impact against her right shoulder caused that hand to go completely numb and fall, and the pain in her left shoulder and hand caused her to let go of that one, too.  
  
So, once more, she fell screaming, only feet first this time. And closer, much closer to the staircases. Close enough to force her eyes open, see a person leaning out watching her - no, a lot of persons. Had the bell rang between classes already?  
  
She grabbed at the nearest one (he swore) still wailing, and for a moment, one glorious moment, she thought that she'd stopped falling.  
  
Then they were both plummeting downwards. Jerked to a stop. Falling. Yanked to a stop. Falling. Stopped completely.  
  
Hermione promptly wrapped herself around whomever it was that she had grabbed, and ignored everything else, not even focused on anything other than the act that she had A) stopped falling, and B) was now upside down again. Her throbbing shoulder, barely coherent sobs/shouts, and tears weren't really a necessity to her at the moment.  
  
Whomever she had grabbed on to was hissing something about A) "lady, let go, I can't breathe you idiot!" and B) "hurry up and pull us up!"  
  
The person that had grabbed on to him was interested in A) "if you let go of me, Wormtail, I swear I'll kill you." And B) "Who's the chick?"  
  
The person holding on to HIM was A) "AHH, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're all gonna die!" and B) "pull me up Remus, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, please don't let me die, all of you down there are too heavy for me!"  
  
The person holding him, and, apparently, the only one anchored to solid ground, hissed, A) "you dolts weigh more than you think, ya know!" B) "SOMEBODY GET A FREAKIN' TEACHER!!!" and C) "hey, who's bleeding and screaming?"  
  
Eventually, a teacher did come, actually three teachers, and soon the four boys plus Hermione were on much safer premises. What seemed like every kid in the school burst into applause.  
  
Then grumbled as they were shooed off to class.  
  
Hermione was still clinging on to who ever it was she grabbed, sobbing, and now that she was upright and no longer falling her shoulder and the point of her message ("HE PUSHED(sob)ME HE PUSHED ME (sob)OFF! HE TRIED TO (sob, hiccup, sob)KILL ME, HE PUSHED ME!) And so forth seemed much more important.  
  
It was a while before she calmed down enough to listen to anybody else. The first thing she heard, other than the ringing in her ears, was a heavy thumping. A heartbeat, she figured out after a moment. Then a voice, sounding like it had been and was being deprived of air. Something about "letting go" and "can't breathe."  
  
Then other voices. Older, mature, adult voices. Something like, "hospital wing" and "who is she" and "let go of him, now, before you both get institutionalized".  
  
It was still a while before she chanced to untangle her legs and arms, dropping to a nice, solid floor, and opened her eyes. Both of her palms were stinging and bloody, and her right shoulder had to be dislocated, or something like that, and was bleeding heavily. The (unlucky) boy that had (un) fortunately saved her life gasped for air, and three others were around him in an instant. Three other /kids/ like him. She was surrounded by three teachers, however.  
  
She was hustled and bustled and asked questions and moving and walking, but all she could say was 'he pushed me, he tried to kill me!' along with broken sobs of pain now more than anything else.  
  
Eventually, she found herself in the hospital wing, and found herself in a bed, with a vaguely familiar Madame Pomfrey above her bustling about, then she was fed something, and passed out. 


	2. Waking Up

A/N: oh, you people like this, you really do! :D  
  
A SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL thanks to AMK, Little Miss Lena, joani, lime green lion, Romm, the person who I know there is another one but I can't see his/her review, and anybody else I missed!  
  
Oh, and I don't own HP. ^_^ this is a SB/HG fic, I think. I'm not quite sure, but I'm very certain it is. You'll be very certain after the next chapter, too!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
When Our Heroine woke up again, she was laying in a bed.  
  
Upon further inspection, she found she was lying in a bed in the hospital wing. It looked like Madame Pomfrey had been doing some redecorating since the last time she had been there.  
  
When she turned her head the other way on the pillow, she started and almost screamed.  
  
A kid (around her age, maybe a little older) was sitting there, peering down at her with a shrewd look in his eyes. How very unnerving.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"The kid you tried to choke a few hours ago."  
  
Choke? Hours? She squinted at him, pursing her lips. "I don't know what you're talking about." She decided carefully at last.  
  
He gave an impatient sigh. "You'd better not have amnesia. Okay, from the beginning, my point of view; I'm walking with my friends to my next-to-last class, when I hear some girl screaming really loud. As does everybody else. So I lean out over the stairs and look up, just like everybody else, and see a girl that's all bloody falling. She opens her eyes, chokes me, then takes a potion to make her stop bleeding and passes out."  
  
Nothing rang a bell. She stared at him blankly.  
  
He sighed again, than began speaking again, as though to a cute yet very dull child. "You get pushed, or so I can guess, and fall screaming. You open your eyes, reach out, and grab me around the neck. I can't hold you, AS THE PREVIOUS ACTION WAS UNEXPECTED, and we both start falling, but luckily, a dear friend was next to me, and managed to grab my shoe. Of course, this previous action being UNEXPECTED, I kick him, and all three of us starts to fall. I think my friend might've knocked into another friend, because he grabs him around the ankles and goes tumbling too. Until my final and third friend grabs his foot, and manages NOT to fall. He's pretty strong, and smart too. So he starts shouting for a teacher, while keeping us from killing ourselves, while the guy he's got starts wailing about getting killed and going to die, and the friend that's got me is trying to get you off my neck without dropping us at the same time, whereas you decided to choke me with your knees too, and we finally get rescued by a teacher. And all YOU can do is choke the living hell out of me and sob on about being pushed and then you're all bleeding all over me, and I've already missed the first part of my class by now, then you finally let go, AFTER breaking my air passage or doing something to make me NOT breathe. So I get dragged in here too, and here we are."  
  
She stared at him blankly again. He stared right back  
  
"And..." she said finally, after a very long moment of glaring.... Staring. "You've been sitting there staring at me for how long?"  
  
"About a minute now. I've only just been allowed to get up."  
  
"And /why/ are you staring at me?"  
  
"To wake you up. It works with a friend of mine, and apparently it works with you too."  
  
"You can't wake people up by simply staring at them," she retorted haughtily, breaking her gaze to the ceiling. "Why would you want to wake me up?"  
  
"A couple of things," he said casually. "The first is to thank you for almost killing me. I got to miss my last classes, which are my least favorite I might add. The second is to ask you why you were falling in the first place."  
  
"Oh." Why HAD she been falling? Must remember, must remember, must re................... "HE PUSHED ME!!!" Hermione howled, on her feet in a matter of seconds. "HE PUSHED ME, HE TRIED TO KILL ME!!!"  
  
"Yes, I am well aware of that fact, you told the entire school before." He insisted. "Sit down before you hurt yourself again."  
  
She gave him a shrewd look, but all the same sat down on the bed again. Then threw the covers back over herself and settled where nobody could see her and she couldn't see anybody else. She'd only sat down because she'd begun to feel dizzy, and she'd only just hidden herself because she wasn't wearing... much.  
  
He jerked the blankets off her head. "Who pushed you? I'll push him if his initials are S.S."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Moi? You don't know who I am?"  
  
"No....... should I?"  
  
Yeah, he looked familiar, but she'd never met him before. Dark eyes deprived of color, black hair falling in his eyes, tall... nothing else familiar.  
  
"And what may your name be, Ms. I-got-pushed-off-the-stairs-and-tried-to- choke-the-prettiest-boy-in-school?" he asked finally after a moment.  
  
"Hermione. Weren't you going to tell me YOUR name?"  
  
"Everybody knows it." He snapped, looking quite aghast that there was actually somebody in the world that had never heard of him before.  
  
"Well then, I'm obviously not 'everybody'."  
  
"Sirius."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"You DO know, at the least, a guy named 'Sirius Black' don't you?"  
  
"Well, yes I do. Doesn't everybody know about him?"  
  
He fell over.  
  
"Yeah, well," he said, getting back into his seat looking a bit flustered. "I'm him. But I have never heard of some girl called 'Hermione' if you please, and I really don't care, just tell me who pushed you."  
  
"Si- Sirius?" she stuttered. "But, no wait, that's... you're playing a sick joke, you are!"  
  
"EXCUSE ME?" the would-be-Sirius snarled, jerking to his feet. He looked ready to strangle somebody, seemed to run this thought through his mind more than once, then sat down again, calm, cool, and collected. "We'll talk about that later. Who pushed you?"  
  
"You can't be him! That's not possible! That's just, just, that's not possible!"  
  
"TELL ME WHO FREAKING PUSHED YOU AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT MY NAME!"  
  
"MALFOY DID YOU BASTARD, NOW TELL ME YOUR REAL NAME!"  
  
"THAT IS MY REAL NAME!"  
  
"NO IT ISN'T!"  
  
"YES IT IS!"  
  
"NO IT ISN'T!"  
  
"YES IT - oh, hell, I don't have time to argue with some demented girl." He stood up and sniffed, jerking his head to the side to get his bangs out of his eyes. "I don't like you." That seemed to be an insult in his opinion, because he turned on his heel and started to march out.  
  
Hermione wouldn't have any of that.  
  
Forgetting that she was just in a pair of shorts and a hospital gown, she jumped to her (bare) feet and shot after him, catching up at the door and blocking his way out.  
  
"I want to know your real name this instant." She snapped, pushing him backwards. "Right now."  
  
"I want to know how you let yourself get pushed off a stairway by a blond first year."  
  
"I said I want your real - first year?"  
  
He put both hands on her shoulders and guided her back to her hospital bed, speaking in a low soothing voice.  
  
"There, there. You'll be in your right mind in no time, once what's-her- name gets back from the dungeons. Now you just lay down here, that a girl, and just go to sleep. You'll be fine." By the time he finished his speech, Hermione was sitting on her bed again, he was backing out, and Madame Pomfrey was walking in with another student. It was then that Hermione realized that before, she and "Sirius" had been the nly ones in the big room. All the other beds were empty.  
  
"Did I say you could get back out of bed? Get!" so, he was in the bed next to her now.  
  
She tended to the kid with her's wrist, then sent him out. After that was done, she gave the boy a glare, then stood over Hermione.  
  
"Are you alright, now, dear?"  
  
"Other than what I'm hearing so far is freaking me out? Yeah, I'm fine. How long was I out? How many classes did I miss? Oh, if I missed Charms I'm gonna be in so much trouble..." Hermione groaned softly.  
  
"I'm afraid it's almost dinner time, dear. You've missed all of the afternoon's classes."  
  
"Oh no."  
  
"If I understand, there wasn't much homework, and it's the weekend, so you'll be fine in that aspect. Now, hold still, let me see your shoulder. Does this hurt?"  
  
"No."  
  
"How about this?"  
  
"No."  
  
"And this?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Okay, then." The healer stepped back and dropped Hermione's arm. "Are you hurt any where else other than those scratches on your hands?"  
  
Hermione looked at her hands and the fading cuts.  
  
"No, I'm fine everywhere else."  
  
"Alright, then. Now, I understand you were pushed off the stairs?"  
  
"Yes I was, by Malfoy."  
  
"Is that so? I'll have to mention something to the headmaster. Why did he push you?"  
  
"I was late for class, and I told him to stop deliberately blocking my way. When he didn't, I feigned going one way, then went the other, and he pushed me."  
  
"That's it?" Pomfrey asked. "You didn't aggravate him any more?"  
  
"Well, I called him a blond oaf if that's what you mean." Guilt welled up inside. But Hermione wasn't about to lie to the teacher.  
  
"Okay, dear. And may I ask your name?"  
  
"But," she stared at her disbelievingly. "You already know my name."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't, dear, we must not have met before now. And what a sweet angel you are, to not be getting hurt at all." She threw a look in the imposter boy's direction. He grinned cheekily.  
  
"I'm Hermione."  
  
"Miss Hermione...?"  
  
"Granger."  
  
"Okay, Miss Granger. What year are you in?"  
  
"Fifth. Erm, did you get your hair done?"  
  
"No, not recently."  
  
"Ah. Well, it looks nice."  
  
"Oh, why thank you."  
  
It was true. The once-gray-flecked hair now had very little gray in it, and had more body. For lack of better word. She even looked younger... wasn't that a surprise? 


	3. Words and Tests

A/N: ^_^ double post for your enjoyment!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
"Well, I don't think she's okay every where else," the boy put in, causing Madame Pomfrey's head to snap around and her eyes to narrow.  
  
"Oh?" she asked icily. "Why not?"  
  
"She hasn't heard of me. I mean, she's all like, ' don't know you, I don't know you' then I tell her my name and she's all like, well, like, 'no, that's not true' and I'm all like 'Malfoy's a first year' and she's all like 'first year?' and I'm all talking to her in this soft voice you use with Remus, you know?, and then I was going to leave, but then you came and she's all like 'no, I'm fine' when in fact I BELIEVE she has amnesia or something." After his nice run-on sentence was finished, the boy looked like he'd like to bow. He didn't though, just sat obediently with crossed legs.  
  
Unorthodox, Hermione couldn't help but notice.  
  
"Is that so?" Pomfrey asked, then turned to Hermione. "Is that true?"  
  
"He said his name was Sirius Black!" she blurted out, once more on her feet. "And I don't find that very funny!"  
  
"That was his name, last time I checked," came the soothing reply.  
  
"Oh?" Hermione retorted, slamming her hands on her hips so hard it hurt. "And I suppose his best friends are James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and they all four run around calling themselves the Marauders and play pranks and personally hate Severus Snape. Is that true as well?"  
  
"Indeed, it is."  
  
All three started and looked towards the door, where an all-too-familiar old man waltzed through the door.  
  
Waltzed. I mean, not literally /waltzed/ in like the dance. More like strode. That's the word. Strode in.  
  
"Professor," Hermione cried. "You can't be serious! If this is a joke, I certainly don't find it funny!"  
  
"No joke." He looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Is she well?"  
  
"Well, as far as I can tell. Either she's pretending or lying or I don't know..." the healer murmured back. They both looked at Hermione, who had the strong urge to wave and call 'hel-lo I'm still here you dolts!' but she didn't. Instead, a small smile (that was somewhat forced) alit her features.  
  
"Well, I'd like to make a speech about horsing around at the stairs, first of all," Dumbledore announced. "And I'd like to know who hurt and pushed her. This is a serious matter."  
  
"No, not really," the boy next to Hermione said. She glared at him. He smiled back innocently.  
  
"She says it was the Malfoy boy."  
  
"Ah. Okay, then. I'll go have a word with him."  
  
"Can I keep her for the night? I'd like to run some more tests, to check brain activity..."  
  
"I quite understand. But you must also be aware, that she very near almost died. She'll be a bit... traumatized."  
  
"Of course, headmaster."  
  
"Good night, then. Mr. Black, don't cause anymore trouble." He left.  
  
"What? I haven't done anything under the definition of trouble all day!" the boy insisted.  
  
"Oh?" Pomfrey shot back. "And I suppose that breakfast doesn't count?"  
  
"Snape deserved that and you know it. And don't even think about commenting about history of magic and lunch. James helped with those."  
  
"Oh, I won't. You run along now, go to dinner."  
  
"Why, Merci beaucoup, ma dame!" he jumped to his feet and skipped, yes literally /skipped/, out.  
  
Now Hermione was alone with Madame Pomfrey.  
  
"I'm fine!" she insisted. "I certainly didn't hit my head! And whatever is going on, it's not funny any more!"  
  
"Nothing is going on, Miss Granger. Now, just take this potion here, and relax." A goblet filled with something gooey and purple was handed to her. "I'm just going to run a few tests on you." A wand was pulled out and waved around. 


	4. Many Meetings

A/N: what's this? Three chapters in one day?  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
When she woke up again, it was obviously the next day.  
  
Hermione yawned, stretched, tossed, turned, ate a little something off her bedside table, massaged her eyes, and mumbled incoherently, but after a while she figured she wouldn't be getting back to sleep again any time soon.  
  
It was still well after she had acknowledged this fact that the past events finally replayed through her mind.  
  
It was all too weird. Scary, really. Either she was dreaming, or....  
  
Hey, wait a second! If she'd been here for all of yesterday's last classes and was obviously here NOW (afternoon, judging by the sun) then where were the two idiots that called them her friends? Surely, since today was Saturday, they would be here by her side?  
  
After a bit more, she decided to get up and go find them. They'd better have a good reason for not being there.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey?" her voice echoed around the empty room. She looked around. When was the healer not present?  
  
Swallowing an uncomfortable lump in her throat, Hermione began to search around for her robes. Upon finding them, she threw them on (over the hospital clothes) and stuffed her feet into her sneakers, not bothering with her socks since they obviously weren't there.  
  
Moving at a light jog, she made her way down through empty halls, past empty classrooms, and eventually it dawned on her that everybody else might be outside. Were the grounds all big enough for that? Shrugging it off, she found herself in front of the portrait of the fat lady.  
  
"Password?"  
  
"Mimbulus mimbletonia." She said.  
  
"I'm sorry dear, that's not it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, that's not the password."  
  
"Yes it is, last time I checked! Which was yesterday! I don't forget things like that! Did you guys change it for some reason?"  
  
"No, it hasn't been changed as of yesterday. It's quite alright, plenty of students forget the password early on in the year..."  
  
"No! No, this is very bad! That MUST be the password, it /must/ it /is/!"  
  
"No, dear, it isn't. Perhaps you have the wrong tapestry..."  
  
"No! I don't! That IS the password! I did NOT pronounce it wrong!"  
  
"I'm afraid you did."  
  
"No, I didn't!"  
  
"Yes you did!"  
  
"No I didn't!"  
  
"Yes you did!"  
  
"No I didn't!"  
  
"Yes you did!"  
  
"NO I DIDN'T!"  
  
"YES YOU DID!"  
  
"NO. I. DID. NOT!"  
  
"Is there a problem, ladies?" asked a quiet, tired voice. Hermione whipped around, stumbled slightly, and almost fell right in to a boy. Around her age, again, except taller. He had light eyes and light brown hair that was currently flyaway. He looked from Hermione, to the tapestry, to Hermione again. He looked awfully familiar...  
  
"This student here," the tapestry began sniffily, "is trying to tell me what the password is!"  
  
"And... you aren't letting you tell you the password."  
  
"No! No, not like that, I mean, she told me the password, it's just the wrong password, and she insists it's the right one!"  
  
"It IS the right one!" Hermione shot back, forgetting about the boy behind her. "You're just being a difficult little..."  
  
"Ladies, ladies, calm down." Again, both sets of brown eyes turned towards the boy. His voice was quiet, so it seemed that both had to strain to hear. "She forgot the password. It happens all the time, so just calm down."  
  
"I DID NOT FORGET THE PASSWORD!" Hermione screamed at the top of her voice. Now they stared at /her/.  
  
"Got quite a set of tubes, that one," noted another voice. The Sirius- imposter had stepped around the corner.  
  
He smiled brightly.  
  
"So, Hermione, you got let out early, huh? Did you get diagnosed with amnesia or schizophrenia?"  
  
"I'm perfectly fine I'll have you know!" Hermione shot back. Then, after a moment's thought, "and you still haven't told me your real name!"  
  
"Oh, lord, don't start that again. I told you more than enough times, Pomfrey told you, Dumbledore told you... Is it /so/ hard to accept the fact that I have a prettier name than you do?" the little smile he had was infuriating. Hermione wanted right then nothing more than to strangle him (again, if what he had told her before was true). "Oh, and remember the way you ranted back in the hospital wing? It's all true, you know. Standing right next to you with the hairstyle that went out fifty years ago and the extra-thinness, we have Remus Lupin! I believe that James Potter and Peter Pettigrew will be inside there." He pointed vaguely at the fat lady, who sniffed again.  
  
Hermione looked from the would-be-Sirius to the would-be-Remus to the fat lady tapestry, and finally her gaze settled on somebody who had come up behind the would-be-Sirius.  
  
"What's going on?" the boy asked. "Why are we all standing... oh, you're that girl that got pushed, aren't you?" he looked past Sirius to Hermione, raising his eyebrows. A hand came up and ruffled his already messy hair.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione cried, feeling relief wash over her.  
  
"Really, you think so?" the would-be-Sirius asked, looking at Harry. "Nah, I've got more hair than he does."  
  
Hermione ignored him. Harry glared at him. The would-be-Lupin rolled his eyes.  
  
"Harry, where have you been? And where's Ron? Where's Malfoy?" she fought the urge to run up and hug him.  
  
"Excuse me?" Harry asked. His voice seemed a little different. Almost... no. Hermione shook her head, one hand reaching up to touch a temple. She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, Harry was talking again.  
  
"I haven't seen you before, and I'm going to make an educated guess and say you aren't in Gryffindor." He remarked.  
  
"WHAT?!? SO, you're in on this little joke too, huh?!? WELL I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW-" Hermione motioned toward Harry, the would-be-Sirius, the would-be- Lupin, and the fat lady portrait "-THAT I AM NOT THAT GULLIBLE!"  
  
"What joke?" Harry asked. Something akin to understanding crossed his face and he looked from the would be Sirius to the would be Remus back to the would be Sirius again. "Joke?" he echoed, voice slightly exaggerated.  
  
"Not me," the would-be-Sirius said, shaking his head lightly. "And we both know Moony wouldn't do something that weirded out to a /girl/ of all things..."  
  
Hermione roared. That did it. Two things the would-be-Sirius shouldn't have said; "moony" and "things"  
  
"THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH! I'M NEVER FORGIVING YOU FOR THIS, HARRY!" and with that, she was off running again. Towards the headmaster's office. That was just too much. What was going on???  
  
She got there, panting, clutching a stitch in her side, when she realized she didn't know the password.  
  
Which was just as well, because right then Dumbledore himself walked up, accompanied by a complaining blond. Hermione's eyes slid over the blond to Dumbledore, who did just the exact same thing.  
  
"Why, hello," he said pleasantly. "Is this the boy who pushed you?"  
  
Hermione didn't even bother to glance at the little kid. "No," she said, exaggerating the word. "I said Malfoy, not tiny little blond. Listen, professor, this has gone on long enough! I'm tired of this joke, it isn't funny, and if I'm expected to play along, I won't! I want everything to go back to normal, and I want to know those two boys' real names!" after her outburst, Hermione felt (strangely enough) much better than before. She regarded Dumbledore with a sense of integrity.  
  
"This is Malfoy," Dumbledore said once he was certain she had quite finished.  
  
"What?"  
  
This time Hermione did look at the little blond.  
  
Little! Ha! He was in first year, obviously. Other than the blond hair and eyes, he didn't bear any resemblance to Draco at all.  
  
"No, that's not him. I didn't know he had a brother."  
  
"He doesn't." 


	5. Tearful Revelations

A/N: oy. I've already posted three chapters today, and now I'm working on the fourth. I hope you people like me! *sniffle* oh, and I fixed the summary. I DID have a good one down (it's down right now) but when I checked it on the outside, I saw that all it said was "Hermione literally" and that was it. Well, of course I freaked out (had I been planning NOT to make it s/h? was this supposed to be canon and I forgot?), and after some tinkering around, I found my problem. The summary cut off because I had quote marks in it, and apparently quotes aren't allowed in summaries. So what was [hermione literally "falls...] came out as [hermione literally  
] so I APOLOGIZE VERY VERY MUCH for any confusion! Really, I do! And for those who haven't figured it out, this is AU. I've already said that.  
  
Poor Hermione! I know I'd freak and totally go anorexic and stuff if I found out I was in my parents' past. I mean, ew.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
After the little blond boy left (grumbling) Dumbledore pleasantly asked Hermione to accompany him up to his office. (Chocolate-covered-frog-eggs was the password)  
  
Once sitting down and shifting uncomfortable, Hermione glanced around the room. It looked different, but not too different.  
  
"Where's Fawks?" she asked, seeing the cage and bird not there.  
  
"Fawks?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly. "He's out flying, I do believe... nobody except a teacher or two knows about my phoenix."  
  
"Is that so?" she asked, falling back a little ways, avoiding his steady, unblinking gaze. "Glad to hear he gets plenty of exercise."  
  
"Indeed. And how did you find out about him?"  
  
"Second year, remember? With the chamber of secrets and all?"  
  
"Yes?" he asked, leaning forward.  
  
"Y- you don't remember?" she asked in a tiny voice. "This is, this is all just a joke, isn't it, professor? Professor?"  
  
"I'm afraid that there is no joke. Did Madame Pomfrey release you?"  
  
"She said my health was perfectly fine, and when I woke up this morning, there wasn't anybody there." Hermione began defensively. "So I went to go find Harry and Ron, but when I got to the fat lady, she said I had the password wrong. I know I said it right! I didn't mispronounce it or anything, but she wouldn't let me in! Then Some kid shows up, the one that thinks he's Sirius Black, and another, who thinks he's professor Lupin, then Harry shows up and says he thinks I need to go back to the hospital wing!"  
  
"I'm afraid, miss, ah? Granger, was it? Miss Granger. Would you, err, tell me about Harry and Ron, then?"  
  
"Like what? I think that /you/ are the one who needs to see Madame Pomfrey." The words had just slipped out. Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth.  
  
Just then, the door burst open.  
  
"Headmaster!" Madame Pomfrey cried, throwing herself in. "The girl, miss Granger, she's-" she cut herself off abruptly when she saw Hermione. Blinked rapidly. Then, "What year are you from, Miss Granger?"  
  
"What?" Hermione asked stupidly. She told her.  
  
"My, my, my," Dumbledore stood up slowly, and Madame Pomfrey handed him a parchment. He read it slowly, then looked at Hermione and smiled. "It seems, Poppy, that we have a time traveler."  
  
"What?" Hermione asked softly. Dumbldore beamed at her, and named a date over ten years ago. Before she was born.  
  
"That is the current date," he said, gently, and sat down. "That will be all, Poppy. I would like it if this stayed between the three of us, if you catch my meaning."  
  
Madame Pomfrey nodded numbly, and left in a gaze.  
  
"Now, Miss Granger, would you tell me everything from the moment you were pushed to right now?"  
  
"Erm... yeah..." she started, sinking back. This was just a joke.  
  
Just a big, terrible, sick joke.  
  
After she had told him, though, he sighed and said, "Miss Granger, you have traveled through time. Something happened between out time lines, though I'm not quite sure." He put a finger to his chin and frowned, as if in thought.  
  
"How?" she asked softly, voice empty.  
  
"I think," He murmured, "I think Hogwarts is built time upon time upon time, and once something changes, permanently in the school, it affects only that time line. The moment it changes, it's like that old school, that hadn't been changed, stays behind while the newer version goes on, until something changes again. You just broke through all of the barriers... but here I am only guessing. I must prove my theory first."  
  
"Bu- but wait!" she cried, jumping to her feet as he moved to leave. "Wait, professor, what do I do now?"  
  
"I'll speak to your teachers... erm, what classes do you take? Could you write your schedule down for me?" he moved back towards his desk, pulling out a quill, some ink, and parchment. Obediently, Hermione scribbled down her classes and their times. She handed it to him, and he glanced over it.  
  
"Hmm, okay then. I'll have a word with your teachers, tell them that you're an exchange student and will be staying with us for a little while... yes, that'll work. Then you can go to your classes and such, and pretend you're part of this time line." His face became hard. "That means you reveal nothing about the future, in our perspective. You know what I mean. Do you understand?"  
  
It took a moment for this to sink in. Hermione nodded, slowly. He smiled at her.  
  
"Ah, yes, you must be terribly startled by this whole predicament. Never worry, we'll find a way to send you back. Don't tell," he added with a wink, then opened the door and stood aside.  
  
Like a dream, Hermione got up and drifted toward it. He followed her out, but when they came to the hallway, to part ways, she cried, again, "Wait, professor! Erm, what's the password? T- to the common room?" she asked.  
  
"Ah. Your life might be a bit easier if you knew that." he paused, then, in a low voice, "It's muidragniw. It helps, if you have trouble remembering the password, to know that it is 'wingardium' spelled backwards." And with that he waltzed away. Strode. He strode away.  
  
Hermione stared after him, then shook her head and began her march back to the portrait of the fat lady. There wasn't anybody else there, so she said, dully, "Muidragniw."  
  
The fat lady gave her a suspicious look as she swung open, and Hermione scrambled into the common room.  
  
All eyes drifted to her.  
  
That meant that, those who were not outside were there. The common room was pretty full.  
  
Most eyes drifted back to what they had been focused on before, and the noise level did nothing other than causing an insistent thrumming/buzzing sound in her ear. In a daze, she walked slowly up to the girls' dormitory, and found her room.  
  
She pushed it open, and five girls looked up at her.  
  
Duh!  
  
Her room wouldn't be /her/ room before she had been born!  
  
"S- sorry," she stuttered, closing the door. "Wrong room!"  
  
This was great. Now what did she do? She didn't even have any of her books! Palms a considerably higher temperature now, she drifted back downstairs and found a spot next to the fire, in a corner that was almost shadowed.  
  
Sitting there with her back to the wall, knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around them, watching the kids all speak, laugh, joke, go up and down stairs, go in and out of the portrait hole, Hermione realized she was still wearing the hospital clothes.  
  
Eager for a chance to leave and do something, Hermione got to her feet and left, heading to the hospital wing at a fast-paced walk.  
  
Was she really in a different timeline? Call upon logic. The library! The place that would never fail her! They'd have enough books to research weather Dumbledore's explanation was "possible" or not.  
  
Now extremely comforted by having something to do the rest of the day, Hermione gave Madame Pomfrey her hospital clothes, then left for the library, eager to figure out if she really was...  
  
She slowed to almost a tiptoe at the library's entrance, and once she entered, an immense feeling of comfort and relief soaked her from head to toe. This was her place.  
  
Hermione wasn't the only one there. Plenty of students were studying, looking for something to read, homework, and four were lounging around whispering so softly that even the old librarian couldn't hear.  
  
She recognized three of them immediately, and assumed the fourth chubby one (short) was Peter Pettigrew.  
  
She avoided looking at them, for plenty of reasons. Such as embarrassment, homicidal thoughts in Pettigrew's direction, curiosity, and guilt as to what Harry would...  
  
Shaking her head, she moved immediately move to the section of the library she knew had the Book of her Dreams.  
  
According to 'Hogwarts; A History', something as far-fetched as that would be possible, due to the way the school was built.  
  
Well, then, she'd need something on the architecture of the school.  
  
Replacing the (Book of her Dreams), hermione commenced a search for something on the architect.  
  
When she finally admitted defeat and decided to ask for help, the librarian was abruptly standing over her. Hermione became aware of three things: it was dark, there was nobody else in the library, and she was hungry.  
  
"The library is closing for the night," said the woman's soft voice. "Will you come back tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes, I will," Hermione whispered. "I'll need to find something on the architect of this school."  
  
"Ah. We'll find something tomorrow, then. Good night."  
  
"Good night."  
  
Hermione moved slowly to the dormitory, her intentions to get there with everybody else asleep.  
  
However, when she entered, the four were all there, a hissed conversation being stopped abruptly when they caught sight of Hermione. All five stared at each other for a moment, then Hermione moved quickly towards the girls dormitory, going slowly all the way up the steps, then all the way back down.  
  
The common room was empty when she got there, the glowing embers of the fire throwing flickering shadows everywhere. Finding a big squishy armchair in front of the dying flames, she kicked off her shoes and curled up.  
  
Quietly, softly, she cried herself to sleep. 


	6. Answers

A/N: wow. I mean, I just posted, what? Four, five chapters in a row? I betchya this one'll be posted tonight, too. ^_^ I'm in a better mood now 'coz my weekend wasn't filled wit boring, tears, and hurt feelings! It was just filled with hurt feelings! Now. This chapter has answers to my own questions... I mean, I'm all asking myself how this happened, so I came up with answers. -_-0 forgive my far-fetchedness.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
"Hey - hey, girl! Girl, hello! Wake up! Hey!"  
  
Slowly, Hermione opened her eyes and stared hard at the face above hers, trying to make out who it was. A pair of oval green eyes lit up when Hermione acknowledged her with a yawn.  
  
"Hullo! My name's Lily Evens, it's nice to meet ya, who are you? I've never seen you before, you walked in on my bedroom by accident once, does that mean you're in a different year? Ya, you look younger, are you in fourth? I think you are, you know, say, I just came down here and saw you, and you look awful, you look like you've been crying, you know? By the way, what's your name? I haven't seen you around here, you know, have you been keeping a low profile? Are you okay? I woke you up 'coz, you know, breakfast has started, you know? By the way, what's your name?"  
  
Hermione wasn't really listening. She was more focused on Lily's green eyes. She knew those eyes... Oh, God. Great. She'd met and now knew both of Harry's parents. What would you think, now?  
  
"I'm fine," she said distractedly, sitting up and wincing slightly when a few cracks were heard. She brought a hand up to her face. "I must have fallen asleep down here, I got in so late. Thanks for waking me up."  
  
"Ya, no problem. What's your name, you know? I deserve to know!" Lily must have been a morning person. Hermione squinted at her. Bright, chirpy...  
  
"Are you drunk?"  
  
"What?" for once Lily didn't go on and on or say 'you know'. There was an uproar of laughter, and Hermione's face went red, and she whipped around, feeling her stomach drop. The common room was pretty full.  
  
"She's always like that," a boy Hermione had never seen before called.  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry, Mrs - erm, Miss, ah, Lily." Why did she feel so bad about calling her by her first name?  
  
Because she's her best friend's and crush's mother...  
  
"I'll go, now," Hermione blurted, jumping to her feet. She practically ran to the portrait hole, then tore down the hallways, finally stopping at a girls bathroom. After raking her finger through her hair, which had lost some of its fluff from not being brushed, and washing her face, Hermione felt brave enough to go down and grab a piece of toast. Trying to avoid eyes and questions, she slipped off with her toast, and realizing she couldn't eat it in the library, stuffed it in a pocket to hide it.  
  
The librarian helped her find quite an armload of books on how the school was built, magic mysteries of the school, and such likes like that. happy with her escape from the school, Hermione carried these precariously outside to the tree that she, Ron, and Harry often stayed under, dumped the books (carefully), grabbed her toast, a random book, and began to read and munch.  
  
It was still a bit early in the morning, her watch said around eight or nine. But after she had stared hard at it for a while and realized it wasn't ticking, she decided not to go by it.  
  
A light mist floated quietly around, and dew clung to the grass and Hermione's hair, thus making it heavier. It wasn't really cold, so she didn't worry much about that.  
  
By the time she had gone through all of the books, there was the sound of kids shouting, talking laughing, splashing, playing or relaxing in general, the sun was up and warm, and Hermione knew that, under certain circumstances, it was possible to time travel.  
  
Like, she discovered, if a muggle, for example, were to fall between the time lines, the one they were in would just stretch down with them, and eventually come to a breaking point, and throw them back up. As a witch or wizard, one would have to be in a certain position, and have certain qualities. They'd also have to be strong, to survive the aftermath. She didn't know what the aftermath would be.  
  
Also, she found out upon further inspection in the library, if she were to see herself as a baby, or even as a glob of cells multiplying, then one of them (the weaker one) would die, because it was impossible for two souls the exact same to live at the same time.  
  
Hermione wondered how many people had been reported missing, when in fact they had traveled back in time and just killed themselves. She tried to imagine somebody like Ron was actually from the future, and it made enough sense that way around.  
  
Then, there was always the fact that she might not survive to be around when she herself was born. Because Time knew that she didn't belong in such and such timeline, and it would try to push her back into her original timeline. Since that was physically impossible, it'd slowly kill her. How? Either she would literally be crushed to death, or she'd fade.  
  
Or which of the two Hermione guessed. But she wasn't worried about those, because there were time travelers other than her, she was certain, what with time-turners. That was why, she soon figured out, time-turners only worked for hours. Relieving a day would make her physically older, and then she'd have a fairly higher age than anybody else... like if she were to go back a day on her birthday, then what would be her birthday in the new timeline, she'd already be a day older.  
  
Therefore, Time wouldn't realize she wasn't where she belonged for a few years, at least, because with each turn of a time-turner, Time was exercised and stretched, and it was wounded in a manner. Thus, it ignored anything moving faster than it, and because Hermione was so far back, it was currently ignoring her.  
  
There were only two things that Hermione was worried about, she decided on her way down to dinner that night.  
  
The first, how she would get back.  
  
The second, the aftermath of traveling. She didn't suppose it would be more than a headache or stomach, because those were the aftermath affects of her using the time-turner. That and light insomnia while being extremely tired. So those latter two clashed neatly together. No, what worried her was that since she'd gone so much farther back, the aftermath symptoms might be magnified. She certainly didn't want to imagine anything like that... it could get pretty ugly...  
  
And since there was nothing to make her extremely tired, that was, she wasn't taking about a million classes, insomnia might be a bad thing. Even light insomnia.  
  
She wouldn't know for a few days. The aftermath symptoms wouldn't show up for another day or so. Maybe she wouldn't have any at all.  
  
It still worried her.  
  
So, once in the loud great hall, she slipped as unnoticeably as she could to the teachers' table and professor Dumbledore.  
  
"Can I speak to you?" she whispered to him.  
  
"What about?" he asked, "specifically."  
  
"You already know my concerns for going back," she dropped her whisper dramatically, "But what I'm worried about is the aftermath affects."  
  
"Ah. You need not worry about that Miss Granger, I do not think they'll be any more worse to live with, and I've alerted Madame Pomfrey to the fact, though, just in case. If you feel you need anything for any symptoms, go to her." He beamed. "And all of your teachers know you as an exchange student here under cover, to see how the school is faring. To grade their performances, so to speak. You are Gryffindor? Best go eat!"  
  
Feeling a little better, Hermione nodded, and said softly, "Thank you, professor, for everything."  
  
"Oh, we'll get you home soon enough."  
  
It wasn't until she had found an empty seat at the end of the table did Hermione think to ask him about what he had found about time traveling through the school. She figured it would have been the same as hers, but what if it wasn't?  
  
Shrugging this off, she reminded herself that she had classes in the morning, and forced herself to load her plate, head down. It was easy enough to eat her fill, and she dawdled in the bathroom until she figured the common room might be empty.  
  
It was, and again she chose her spot on the squishy chair in front of the glowing embers of the fire, and managed to fall asleep. 


	7. Everything's Borrowed

A/N: hah! Okay, so, now I'm going to post the seventh chapter, I think? I don't know, I don't keep count. Anyway, all of this in one night! Oy! And, Killer Angel, your review was the one that wouldn't show up when I checked (a couple of hours ago). So, a belated thank you! -_-0  
  
The spells in this are 'ebraf' and 'kuruz' which are the backwards spellings... the German word for 'color; is 'farbe' which is 'ebraf' backwards, and the German word for 'back' is 'Zurück' and the best I could interpret that backwards is 'kuruz' I own both spells, I guess unless Her Royal Highness would like to use them.  
  
This chapter is nice and extra long for you guys, okay? ^_____^ lol  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
The next morning, it wasn't Lily that woke Hermione up, or the hustle and bustle of kids going to breakfast.  
  
It was a 'thunk' quickly followed by an 'ow' and a curse.  
  
Once she was awake, and under the knowledge of classes who-knows-how-long in the past, she was /AWAKE/ and jumped to her feet, rubbing her eyes. A moment's patience as the blood rushed from her head with dizzying affects, then she made her way yawning toward the portrait hole in a half run.  
  
There was another 'thunk' and quite a few more after that, a few more curses, and the fat lady's "watch where you're going, won't you!"  
  
Hermione got up again, rubbing an eye and looking down at whoever she had just run into.  
  
Oh. She froze as he got to his feet.  
  
"Ah. Hermione, was it?" he asked, squinting at her. "You never /did/ tell me weather it was amnesia or schizophrenia."  
  
"Oh," she said, voice quite higher than usual, "erm, yeah, about that. I'm really, really, really sorry! I, ah, I hit my head on the way here! Yeah, and, err, and when I was going downstairs to see the headmaster, I accidentally stumbled into Malfoy and fell. See, eh, I'm not actually from this school, you understand, I'm sort of like an exchange student, err, I grade the teachers I've been assigned by prof- by the headmaster!" all the while her voice grew in pitch, and she was quite red in the face by the time she'd finished the lie.  
  
Story. Hermione preferred /story/ over /lie/ since this was a very big matter.  
  
Sirius screwed his face up, looking at her through narrowed lies. It was a moment before he said anything.  
  
"That was," he started throatily, "the /worst/ most /stupidest/ lie I have ever heard before in my life."  
  
Hermione couldn't think of a quick and witty reply to that one.  
  
"But I accept your apology. If you're willing to admit who I am."  
  
Oh, that was easy enough. She was well aware of her tense muscles, red face, and clenched fists.  
  
"Err, yes," she started, easily enough. She looked him up and down. Yeah, that was he. Miniature, barely the same. "Your name is Sirius Black and you're a marauder at this school."  
  
He bowed.  
  
"Merci, ma dame, we're on associating terms now." And with that said, he spun on his heel (literally! Hermione almost fell over trying to picture Harry's godfather doing that) and marched down towards breakfast.  
  
She didn't know how long she stood there staring after him, frozen in place. It was only after the fat lady snapped, "Are you going to stand there with me open all day?" did she jerk back into a right state of mind, slam the portrait shut ("ouch! Hey, haven't you any manners??") and rush to the nearest bathroom, which was, luckily, empty. She washed her face hard then ran wet fingers through her hair, wishing dearly for a hairbrush.  
  
Being deprived of one, though, she settled for something she had sworn never to do if her life depended upon it. Or if she had a very good other reason. She didn't consider this a very good "other reason" but she wasn't about to walk through school all day with messy, dirty, oily, tangled hair.  
  
Taking a piece of string, she yanked her hair up to around the middle top of her head and tied it up around the string and the string around that, the bun finally being complete an unnecessary amount of time later. It would have looked much, much better under any other circumstances. But right now, at least her hair was out of her face, and none of it was free, so it would have to do.  
  
A bell rang, and Hermione decided that she'd have to skip over breakfast and head toward her first class.  
  
Most people found it hard to memorize a schedule that had as many classes of hers (only enough to fill a day, she needed homework time, study time, sleep time, and eat time) that were all different each day of the week.  
  
But Hermione found that part rather easy, next to the classes.  
  
First on Mondays was herbology, easy enough. Nobody, not one of the top five people she wanted to avoid anyway, throughout her morning classes, and the teachers each regarded her carefully and told the students she was a trade student. By lunchtime, everybody (of course) knew, and there were many interested stares in her direction when she entered the great hall for lunch. She ate a little, wrapped some more in a napkin, and then left in a hurry.  
  
She'd been given a used bag and books to borrow, and Dumbledore had also given her a supply of parchment, quills, and ink, so she was decked out enough. He'd even asked her what her wand was, and then gotten (borrowed, he had said) borrowed a wand (that would be hers once she was born) for her to use.  
  
Things didn't begin to get twitchy until after lunch and history of magic.  
  
Charms. The class that had started it all.  
  
And guess who she had it with? All five of them. Even though it was obvious all the kids knew by now, the class was told she was a temporary exchange student, and to make her feel welcome, as her school may do things differently.  
  
They were doing color-changing charms today, simple enough in Hermione's opinion. She listened, understood, and felt things might go smoothly, even with the five of them there... in the same room...  
  
She felt her stomach drop, fall through the floor, and squish into another timeline when he began to (manually) partner them up. Going against their friends would not, apparently, help them.  
  
And guess whom Hermione got partnered up with?  
  
Lupin.  
  
They stood about five feet apart, a desk between them, just like all of the others. So she had an excuse to study him much more closely (Hermione comforted herself with) and decided that (as a kid, as a kid, in a different timeline! Not hers!) he was kind of cute.  
  
In a mysterious, sisterly kind of way. Mutual attraction, but more like it was how drained he seemed (when had the last full moon been?) almost fragile. Hermione suppressed a shudder, thinking of a former teacher as 'frail'.  
  
"Go easy on me," he joked, jerking her out of her unblinking reverie and at the same time indication that she should go first.  
  
"Nah. You may feel some pain before you die, though, so I hope you're ready." She said, matching his soft tone. He didn't catch the hint, or if he did, ignored it or decided it wasn't worth his time to bother with raising his voice. He seemed to hear her perfectly fine through all of the voices trying the spell at the same time, Flitwick's screaming (something like "there's big difference between a disarming spell and the color changing spell, Mr. Potter!"), and the /pings/ and /pongs/ of spells missing their targets and hitting something else.  
  
It wasn't very long until various parts of the room were different colors, and Hermione had the feeling that the entire room would look like some painters had splashed all they had by the time the lesson was over.  
  
Unless they were taught the counter charm. She already knew it, of course, but she knew she'd be taught again.  
  
Glancing over the younger version of her former DADA teacher, she decided on a color and object, pointed her wand, and said, "Ebraf!" along with the slight jerk upward of the wrist but the tip of the wand being held still. Another perfectly executed spell!  
  
And his robes were now a dark blue. (to match his eyes, she decided.)  
  
"Alright," he murmured haltingly, looking down at himself. "Two can play at that game. Ebraf!"  
  
she had a moment's time to marvel at how his stance and the flick of the wrist and pronunciation of the word and everything was perfect (like hers) before there was a slight warming sensation, barely felt.  
  
"What did you," she started, glancing around herself, then a piece of hair fell into her face, and she stared into it. "Ah. Cheaters never prosper."  
  
"How is turning your hair black cheating?"  
  
"Oho, haven't figured it out, yet? Professor said to change clothes /only/ my dear. Ebraf!"  
  
"Heh, well if you don't squeal then I won't - ack, green? I should hardly think my hair - ebraf! - would look green." Insert cocky smirk here.  
  
Infuriating.  
  
"Yes, well - ebraf! - I think it matches your - ebraf! - eyes!"  
  
"What's my eyes got - hold still, ebraf! - to do with it?"  
  
"I think they ought to be a violently violent violet, don't you think? Ebraf! Ebraf! Ebraf!"  
  
"Three spells at once isn't fair! Ebraf!"  
  
"This is life, kid; just because you play by the rules doesn't mean /I/ will. Ebraf!" a moment's thought. "Ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, ebraf!"  
  
"Ouch, okay, you can change my robes, you can make my shoes hot pink, and my skin dark tan, and my hair lime green, but you can not, I repeat /not/ make my fingernails red!" another moment's pause. "Ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, oh, yellow or pink? Ebraf!"  
  
"Hey, I thought we settled on black hair?"  
  
"But pink is so much more stylish!"  
  
"Well, how about I make you go Goth?"  
  
"Goth?"  
  
"Ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, ebraf, and, oh heck with it, ebraf!" it didn't really occur to Hermione that she was indirectly playing with her third year DADA teacher when he was a kid.  
  
"Black? That's it? Fine, I guess that'll make you white, won't it?" insert about a million "ebraf!"s right about here.  
  
"Eek, I've gone all virgin!" Hermione complained. "We ought to match, don't you think? Ebr-"  
  
"I said clothing only!" their professor howled, causing Hermione to start. Her spell went zinging past Remus's right ear and hit the already multi- colored chalkboard, causing a white stain along with all the other colors of the rainbow.  
  
"I'm sorry professor, I must have missed that part," Remus said with a slight smirk. His soft voice was strangely audible. "Then Hermione was hell- bent on revenge, so..."  
  
"Holy, I mean, when did /you/ go bad?" Lily demanded, staring al ogle-eyed at Lupin. He blinked at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well don't you two look like a married couple!" James Potter remarked, and the entire class burst out laughing. Hermione huffed, rolled her eyes, realized what she had been doing, and flushed. Pointing her (borrowed) wand at herself, she mumbled, "kuruz," and judging by the many chokes heard across the classroom, she'd managed to change everything of herself back to normal.  
  
Flitwick chose then to make everybody sit down, and he taught them the counter charm. They spent the rest of the hour cleaning up the classroom, and Hermione avoided all of them (five and the other kids when she could) as she rushed out still tucking her homework in her (borrowed) bag. She made sure she was normally colored in a mirror, and made it to her last class - double D.A.t.D.A.  
  
All five of the others weren't with her this time. Just one.  
  
One that she'd /personally/ like to avoid.  
  
Luckily, though, she managed to find a nice seat in the very back, and today was just some reading the book and they were given their assignment. The teacher was an old wheezing man, so he was a little hard to understand. Having already read the book, Hermione did her assignment, handed it in (taking the long away around the room to avoid Sirius), then got to work on her other assignments. She got a good chunk of them finished too, when they left.  
  
She didn't bother to head to the common room. Instead, she went to the library, finished her assignments, ran around the school handing them in early before the teachers left their classrooms, and then went in search of "The Headmaster". 


	8. Mental Aftermath

A/N: it's 12:12 a.m. (no, literally!) and since I figured since I've already posted six chapters in one day, I might as well do a seventh bright and early the next... yeah, I'm insomniac. What?? You got a problem with that???  
  
By the way, there really isn't much in this I own, ya know...  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
He was, apparently, away. Or so, after scouring the entire school from divination floor to dungeons and finally settling on knocking on the teachers' door, Hermione was told.  
  
Disappointed, she made her way slowly back to the library, and began searching for a way to get back.  
  
She was only discouraged more, because what she read pretty much announced that she was dead in a few years. Feeling a little sick, she made her way to the great hall, once more wrapped something in a napkin, and hurtled out of there, eating on her way to the hospital wing. There she mentioned something about being a little queasy.  
  
And Madame Pomfrey stood over her and made sure she drank the entire goblet, and insisted she spend the night in the hospital wing. Eager for an excuse not to go to the common room, Hermione agreed.  
  
The next morning, she drank another goblet of the stuff that made her fluttering stomach keep under control, and she hurried off to a late breakfast, and realizing she might be doing this for quite some time as she wrapped some thing in a napkin and ate in on her way to a bathroom (where she used a spell to force her hair into a straightened bun, reminding her of McGonagall) then she was the first to her first class.  
  
Potions.  
  
With the Ravenclaws. But since Lily sat with her friends on one side of the dungeon, and the Marauders sat on the other, Hermione found it quite easy to find a nice seat between them, up in front, alone at an empty desk.  
  
The teacher was female. The teacher made Snape seem like a nice, well- mannered bunny-rabbit with a fluffy tail and big blue eyes. (A/N: **hungry drool**)  
  
After spitting out the directions and taking points from both houses every thirty seconds, the class got to work. The directions had been incoherent, but since Hermione had already studied the particular potion (it had been in the back of her potions book back in her own timeline - the book which she had wisely memorized) she didn't have a problem mixing and making the ingredients, nor adding them.  
  
Eventually, as she had been prowling about the room taking points off of every student that did something not necessarily wrong, but more if she didn't like it. She hated the students. Thus, Hermione had a feeling that both houses wouldn't have any points to take away in a little while.  
  
It was a shame. Understandably, the rest of the students were extremely sour, and Hermione pitied them. Good thing she wouldn't be here by the time the end of the year rolled around.  
  
ANYWAY, the 'professor' had pretty much covered the entire room thrice and was now heading in Hermione's direction. Our Heroine was prepared.  
  
Having finished the potion just a while ago, Hermione stirred it absentmindedly, three times counter clock wise, then five times clock wise. Taking the ladle out, she counted exactly fifty seconds, then stirred it again. She did this nine times, feeling the teacher's presence above her and behind all the time.  
  
After a while, the woman walked passed Hermione and said, "Class, I want a vial of your potion with your name clearly labeled on it, and Miss Granger, you'll be fifty points from Gryffindor."  
  
The reply burst out of Hermione's mouth before she could stop it; "I'm a trade student, you dolt. I'm only in Gryffindor house because I chose the room with a lion on it. Seeing as I'm not technically nor logically registered in that house, or this school for that matter, I think you'll find it a bit impossible to take points away." Stop right there, Hermione! No! don't! "That is, /if/ there are any points /to/ take away after the first five minutes of this class."  
  
There was a very still silence. Nobody moved or blinked, or breathed, it seemed, for that matter. After a while, a voice spoke up, "I agree."  
  
"You stay out of this Mr. Potter."  
  
"I think she's right."  
  
"You too Mr. Black!"  
  
"Look at Hermione's point of view. She's right."  
  
"Lupin! All three of you! All /FOUR/ of you, detention, tonight!"  
  
"I'm sorry, I've got practice. Special permission from the headmaster, too."  
  
"Then Black and Lupin."  
  
"Can't. tonight is a /special/ night."  
  
"Black, I'll hear no excuse whatsoever from you. Nor you, Granger."  
  
"Oh, using my last name, huh?" Now Hermione was getting nasty. "I'll have you know, where I come from that's rude, rude enough to get a couple of gits suspended last year and a few more expelled. My name is Hermione."  
  
"Granger," the potions master's voice became warningly low. But Hermione was feeling angry, reckless, and lightheaded. What was /with/ this? She didn't belong in this school. Not this timeline! So that prat of a teacher couldn't do anything lasting to her, because she hadn't even been born yet! Upon realizing this, a sort of crazy laugh bubbled out, and she pointed her /borrowed/ wand her /borrowed/ cauldron.  
  
"I'll do it! because nothing can happen to me, not here!" she announced. To hell with the world! She was on top of it! She could manipulate, control, even decide these peoples' futures! She /knew/ their futures! What would happen if she were to kill somebody, such as Lily, or James? What would happen then, hmm?  
  
"GRANGER!"  
  
It took Hermione a moment to figure out she had said all that out loud. And , upon further inspection, the class wasn't really sure how to react. Briefly, Hermione ran her words through her mind, meant to swear mentally (must have done it out loud, my what a lovely shade of violet the teacher's face was turning), then dropped her /BORROWED/ wand. It clattered to the floor.  
  
Full realization sunk in. There was a long moment of silence.  
  
Then books clatter and thlunked around, her cauldron tipped over, and the students threw themselves out of her way as Hermione literally threw herself over the desk, slipped slightly on her spilled ingredients, then bolted out of the room.  
  
Through the halls.  
  
She just ran crazedly for a moment, then drew to a stop at an open window, which she threw up out of. Then, sluggishly, she dragged herself to the hospital wing.  
  
After telling her what happened (Madame Pomfrey would have figured it out sooner or later), Madame Pomfrey gave Hermione a number of potions. One to stop vomiting, one to stop lightheadedness, one to calm her stomach down (that and the vomiting one were two completely separate potions), and three that were supposed to affect her mind; decisions area, feeling area, and conscience. Or so Madame Pomfrey told her.  
  
It turned out, this time travel was affecting her mind like crazy.  
  
Hermione accepted the invitation to stay the rest of the day and night in the hospital wing, and even asked for a sleeping draught. She didn't bother worrying about homework and stuff. If there was something she didn't know already, then she'd bother learning it. Otherwise, this wasn't her time. She had already messed up enough of it, and revealing Lily and James like that... how awful...  
  
Sleep was nice. A quiet place where warm blackness covers you from head to toe and comforts every part of your soul.  
  
She woke up again, the next day. The /middle/ of the next day.  
  
"Hullo, and welcome back!" an all-too-familiar voice announced. Hermione didn't even bother turning her head or acknowledging her best friend and crush's godfather. It was... sickening, in a way.  
  
"Since I know you're kind of annoyed with me already, I'll make this quick; first of all, I'd like to say you're very stupid, moronic, idiotic, and brave to stand up like that to /her/ if you know what I mean. Second, afternoon classes today have been counseled due to quidditch game."  
  
She grunted, and despite herself, allowed her eyes to drift over to him. Hermione could stop herself from laughing.  
  
"I'm I wrong in saying you'd like me to come?" she asked, sitting up.  
  
"Nope, you're right!" he said cheerfully, puppy-dog-eyed-expression disappearing. "James - erm, I mean /Harry/, plays the seeker."  
  
"No, I'm willing to accept his name is James," Hermione murmured. "That's a cool position. Do you play on the team?" encouraged by his emphatic nod, she asked, "what position?"  
  
"I'm a beater! The other one is some Weasly guy, he isn't too good at aiming the bludgers, just kind of hits them. So, ya coming?"  
  
Hermione was too smart. "You've planned something. I know, because I annoy you just as much as you me, and you wouldn't be all sweet like that unless you had something planned."  
  
He looked mortally wounded. But this, apparently, was only to the beginning of her speech.  
  
"I annoy you?" he asked, clutching at his heart. "Be still, O thy beating heart! Bleed no more, I beg of thee!"  
  
Hermione snorted. "No, you don't annoy me. I'd just rather avoid you. And Lily, come to think of it. And the other Marauders."  
  
"Why would you like to avoid us?" it wasn't a nasty question, or a hurt one. He genuinely wanted to know. Again, Hermione snorted, and she looked away.  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said softly, "At least, not for over ten years from now. If you still remember this, then you'll know why."  
  
"Oh, are we being mysterious?"  
  
"No, /I/ am being mysterious."  
  
"Tut, tut, tut. Why? What's happening in ten years?"  
  
"Over ten years, /over/. And I'm not telling. I've already aid too much. I'm going to-" her eyes suddenly went the size of saucer plates. Her head whipped around and she grabbed his shoulders. "You can't tell anybody, not /anybody/ that I've, that we've, what I've said! Not never!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Promise! Promise me you won't! you're life will be hell if you don't just forget me now!"  
  
"What? Why? Yup, I knew it. You're a schizophrenic."  
  
Just then, Madame Pomfrey walked in.  
  
"What are /you/ doing here?" she demanded, seeing Sirius. He gave her a (brave) smile.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, releasing Sirius' shoulders so hard he fell back, "can I go to the game this afternoon?"  
  
"I don't know if you're-"  
  
"I'll take all my potions before, and I'll come straight back here after! I promise I will!" a moment of thought. "Then I'll sleep the rest of the day and when I wake up I'll take my potions, eat, then sleep and follow whatever schedule you would like me to!"  
  
"Yes, well..." Madame Pomfrey narrowed her eyes at Hermione. A long minute seemed to stretch for hours. "Oh, I suppose. But I want you right back here the moment the game is finished. Understood?"  
  
"Yes ma'am!"  
  
Madame Pomfrey shook her head. Then she glared at Sirius. "You! out!" she barked. "miss Granger has to get dressed! Shoo!"  
  
It was only after she had been struggling with her robes and drinking all of Madame Pomfrey's potions that Hermione found Sirius' visit strange. She had pretty much announced that she was crazy in their last class, so what was it that...? she groaned softly as she made her way down outside. This had to be a prank. One that she figured might be painful, too.  
  
She clenched her /borrowed/ wand tightly. A small, slow, shrewd smile came to her lips. Maybe it could be backfired. (the prank, I mean) back upon the pranker(s). from what little Hermione knew, Sirius and James were hardly apart. So James would be in on this too. Not to mention Peter and Lupin, though they really didn't seem the type. 


	9. Plotting Siriusly

A/N: XD I'm a crazy git! And muchus muchas gracias to the anonymous reviewer, who totally brightened up my day. Thank you! I now have.... Around seven readers. It's a great start!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
The game itself was rather dull, as it lasted a maximum of thirty minutes and both teams were moving sluggishly slow. Our Heroine attempted to see past the façade, though, and kept herself tense and ready for basically anything.  
  
'I'm paranoid,' she decided when everybody stood up to leave. She did as well, intending to head directly back towards the hospital wing.  
  
She was still extremely suspicious as more potions than seemed needed were stuffed down her throat, and nibbled on some food.  
  
Just as she was beginning to wish she had a nice book with her, there was a commotion at the door, and then Madame Pomfrey came in, dragging two students, ranting nonstop.  
  
Hermione watched, amused, as they two boys were force-fed some pois - fed some potion and sent back out again. There was a momentary silence.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, "can I have some more of that sleeping stuff?"  
  
"Oh, well of course, dear, but wouldn't you like to go to dinner and see your friends?"  
  
"My friends haven't been born yet," she reminded the healer, just in case.  
  
"No, but you still ought to have friends, by now. What about that Evens girl? She has a habit of befriending everything that moves."  
  
"I'd rather avoid her. And those four trouble makers, too, please."  
  
"Oh, alright," Pomfrey paused, then pursed her lips. "I've spoken to the headmaster. He wants you to return to classes tomorrow. And you will. But I want you here at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bedtime anyway, is that understood? You'll be sleeping in your dormitory again." She looked rather unhappy at the thought.  
  
So was Hermione.  
  
"But, what if the aftermath affects me like that again, and I blurt everything out?" she insisted.  
  
"That's why you'll be coming to me at every meal."  
  
"Oh. Erm, can I speak to the headmaster?"  
  
"Not right now. Perhaps if you run into him tomorrow. Now, here you are, drink it."  
  
She shoved a goblet half full into the teen's hands, and Hermione took it unhappily. This was just great.  
  
Harry and Ron were probably really worried by now. They would have told Dumbledore. Yeah. He would realize what had happened, and then they would find a way to bring her back...  
  
Or. Wait a minute! Was she affecting their memories right now? As in, Sirius, Peter, Remus, the teachers, were they right now in her timeline teaching and remembering her from over twenty years ago, and realizing that she had fallen into the past?  
  
Or were they not, by any chance?  
  
The library. The library had all of the answers to life. She'd have to check tomorrow.  
  
'I will,' Hermione decided, bringing the goblet to her lips and carefully sipping its contents.  
  
"Nah, don't drink that, then you'll go to sleep!" a voice remarked from her left, causing Hermione to jump and spill most of the sleeping draught down her front. She glanced at a grinning Sirius, gave an exasperated sigh, and promptly swallowed what was left, putting the goblet on the bedside table.  
  
"Aw, great," he put his elbows on her bed and rested his head in his hands. "Guess I'll have to make this quick, huh?"  
  
"Please, by all means," Hermione muttered, flopping back and staring up at the ceiling. It would take a moment for the draught to start taking affect, she didn't belong in this timeline after all...  
  
"Okay. First of all, Hermione Granger, I know you aren't a trade student. And I know you aren't from some other school, either. you avoid everybody, and you don't seem like one to be anti-social. I don't think you're eating right, and if you aren't in the library, you're in here. You're using this place as an excuse to cut classes, and again, that doesn't seem right for your personality. I want to know what's going on."  
  
"I'll have you know," Hermione began thickly, "that I always act that way. And I am a trade student. From Durmstrang."  
  
The potion began taking affect, and she let her eyes drift halfway shut.  
  
"Don't lie. You're a terrible liar, you know. That wasn't you in potions, that much is obvious. Who are you, Hermione?"  
  
"I'm Hermione," then, after a struggled moment of thought, "I'm a mudblood, too. So you can just go off and do whatever you like. I don't care."  
  
"I'll know where you are at all times, and as soon as you're alone, which you always are, I'm going to confront you, again and again and again until you break down and tell me the truth."  
  
"It'd be so much more easier getting that truth potion what's-it-called," she mumbled, eyes closing completely.  
  
He must have changed positions, because next his voice was almost dangerously soft in her ear. "You'd better count on it. Be careful what you drink." He pushed her hair off her face, then left.  
  
It was still a moment longer before Hermione slipped off.  
  
.  
  
The next morning, after her "medication" as Pomfrey put it, she forced herself to go downstairs, grab something off the table (didn't bother with a napkin), then slipped into the prefects' bathroom. There were a couple there, but seeing as they were still believing that she was a trade student grading the school in general, they left her be.  
  
After a quick shower, in which enough conditioner to make even the largest tangles simply fall out was used, Hermione tied her hair back behind her head at the base of her neck in a tight ponytail. She threw on her robes, ignoring the fact that they were soiled (whereas she wasn't) and grabbed her borrowed bag filled with borrowed stuff.  
  
She went through classes dully, not bothering to do the assignments of things she already knew. This was pointless. Today was Thursday, which meant she'd been in the other timeline around a week. Hermione wasn't quite sure of the exact day she had fallen, so she could only guess.  
  
The only classes that she had with one or more of the five were what worried her, but somehow she managed to avoid them, talking to them at least. When the last class was over, and Hermione had had her potions and run in and out of the great hall, grabbing a little something to eat, she headed at top speed toward the library.  
  
There, she discovered sadly that, because she didn't belong in this timeline, and also because she was so far back, those in her own timeline wouldn't remember her. She wasn't changing their lives in the least. But she could still mess things up completely.  
  
She made her way to the hospital wing, obediently took her potions, then went in search of the headmaster.  
  
Shockingly enough, she found him.  
  
"Miss Granger," he said brightly. "How are you?"  
  
"Miserable," Hermione said truthfully. "I can't find a way to get back, have you?"  
  
"I'm afraid not, Hermione. I'm sorry you're having a bit of a hard time. But I have discovered that only somebody from your timeline will be able to bring you back. Surely, by now, they have noticed you missing, and if I've a brain over twenty years in the future, you ought to be home in no time. Remember what I said about lying low, and don't cut classes. You're still going to get an education."  
  
"I already know everything. At least in my classes, anyway."  
  
"Ah. Should I put you with the sixth years, then? Perhaps their classes would be a bit more challenging."  
  
Hermione considered it.  
  
"Yeah, okay. I'll have to switch books and stuff, and you'd have to tell my new teachers and write out a schedule for me..."  
  
"Excellent." He beamed. "I'll have the head girl bring you your weekly schedule and books. You can return your borrowed things to their respective classrooms, and start your new classes tomorrow. Think you're up to it?"  
  
"Until I'm rescued. When I get back in my own time, though, I bet I'll be going through withdrawal without the aftermath affects potions."  
  
He laughed.  
  
"Never you worry. You won't develop a dependency on them. Now off you trot!"  
  
Back in the common room, Hermione found her shadowed corner, and waited patiently for her new schedule and books. When they didn't come fifteen minutes later and the marauders had stepped inside, she decided to return her borrowed books. Grabbing her borrowed bag with its borrowed things (she would never get over the *borrowed* part of her current state), Hermione rushed past them out of the portrait hole, brushing against Sirius' shoulder.  
  
~  
  
"She's a very strange one," Remus remarked, watching the brown-haired girl rush off. "She's avoiding us."  
  
"Nah, I think she's avoiding Padfoot. I understand you gave her quite a fright the other day in the hospital wing?" James put in, flopping down into an armchair after shoving the first year occupying it off.  
  
Sirius shrugged, tearing his eyes away from the spot Hermione had disappeared. "I only informed her that I would find out the truth about her. But see, this whole trade student façade, the teachers are believing it, and I have reason to believe that our Oh-So-Wonderfully-Wise Headmaster thought the idea up. She hasn't been here before, that's obvious enough. I need to know where she's from. I swear I'll let it drop after that."  
  
"You don't /need/ to know, you /want/ to know." Remus said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Ooooooohhh!" Peter squealed. "Do you think she's /cute/?"  
  
They all laughed.  
  
"Yup, you like her, mate, I know you do."  
  
"No, I don't. I just want to know why she's lying, and why it's so important that the headmaster would- "  
  
"SIRIUS AND GRANGER, SITTING IN A TREE! K I S S I N G!"  
  
"Shut up!" he hissed.  
  
"That's okay. We'll help you!"  
  
"Yeah, who's got the map?"  
  
"Right here," James whipped it out, grinned, then shot up the staircase and into their dormitory. The other three followed, closing the door behind them and crowding around on a bed, each leaning in over the map.  
  
"There she is," Peter pointed, the first to see the little pink dot labeled 'H. Granger'.  
  
"Well, at least we know her name is right,"  
  
"Shush! What's she doing?"  
  
"I don't know... giving her books back? Does she plan on leaving?"  
  
"Shush! Lower your voice, will you? Now, see, look, she's coming back. Alright, I have an idea. Seeing as it's up to the three of us to help our dear friend with his would-be-love-life, I'd suggest you listen."  
  
"I'm not interested in her /sexually/ you gits."  
  
"Well, how are you interested in her? Because we know you are. Academic? Homicidal?"  
  
"I just want to know why she and Dumbledore are lying and all of that stuff."  
  
"Mysteriously."  
  
"That is called a crush, my dear boy."  
  
"I do NOT have a crush on-"  
  
"Sshhh!"  
  
~ 


	10. Sixth Year Classes

A/N: Wow! Twelve reviews altogether! :D thank you: Tabii (yay! You LOVE this! *huggles* , Gwendellen Snape (hurrah! Lookie, see? I updated!) , Killer Angel (aw, garsh, yur on'y sayin' that. =^_^=) , kaylakmk (yet another person loves this! Ah, I could die! I write I write, see, wee!) , and Romm (o_0; erm... lol?) and to anybody I may have missed, THANK YOU!!!!! For reviewing. Reading. Being my indirect friend! Wee! *skips off singing 'this old man' in French*  
  
By the way, I think I only own the thickened plot. I mean, the idea of Hermione going back in time has been done thousands of times before *gets dizzy eyes* but my way of sending her back, and all of that crap, belongs to ME. I don't own HP in general.  
  
And for those who may have been confused by the last chapter, and even for those who haven't: Hermione found that, because she was so far back in the past and didn't belong there, Sirius and Co. won't remember her once she leaves their timeline. Them or anybody else she's "Affected" I suppose you could say. But she COULD , say, kill James or Lily and then go back, but whomever she killed would still be dead. Understand? And, if you don't already know, Hermione could dodge Time and live with the aftermath effects, but the moment her baby self was made, it would be killed immediately, because two people in one time can't live at once.  
  
That means, that the moment her little glop-of-cells-self died, then she'd be dead. Because she **/wouldn't have been born/** DO YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND??? So you also understand that it is **extremely** risky for Hermione to live in the time she's in.  
  
If you have any questions, any at all, then please! Don't hesitate to ask! I'm all for answering! :'D  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Hermione dawdled on her way back, trying to sort things out. Now, at least, she knew she could associate with the marauders and Lily. But she didn't know if knowing her, Hermione Granger, would change anything. She might inspire a personality change, or, or accidentally put somebody like James or Lily in the wrong place at the wrong time, thus disabling Harry's birth. She could destroy the future.  
  
She could ruin everything that had happened in the past twenty or so years.  
  
She had that power in her hands.  
  
It didn't feel too good. Groaning slightly, she cut back to Madame Pomfrey's and got another dose of potions.  
  
'What else can I do?' Hermione thought, watching her feet as she took one step; then another; and another. 'I know I can destroy the future with just a few words, but is there a way, any way at all that I can contact Harry?' she felt a slight pang. Harry. What would he be doing now? Was he worried about her? Hoping that she was okay? Frantically begging anybody to bring her back safely? Or perhaps volunteering to find a way to bring her back himself? Did he perhaps have a crush on her too? Maybe, when she got back, they could...?  
  
Hermione shook her head. 'Don't get your hopes up for something that'll never happen in a third lifetime.' She informed herself firmly mentally.  
  
Back in the common room, she had just sat down in her shadowed corner when a red haired seventh year stepped in and called, "Do I have a Ms. Hermione Granger?"  
  
Noting the books under one arm and the papers clenched in the other, Hermione stood up quickly and hurried over.  
  
"I am," she murmured.  
  
"Here are your books, and your schedule," the red head went on, oblivious to something such as lowering her voice. "Classes start a bit earlier, and of course they end a bit later. I've already alerted your teachers to their new student, have a good night." She shoved the books and papers into Hermione's arms, then went off to gossip with her friends, or so it looked.  
  
Hermione teetered slowly over to her corner and dropped her new stuff, putting it all in her *freakin' borrowed* bag before studying her new schedule. It didn't look too bad, and after a bit she tucked it safely into her robes (she'd need a change pretty soon.) and then took out her books one at a time, reading their covers. Finally, she settled on 'The Dark Arts: Spells and Hexes Most Used' and began reading through it.  
  
And so, she passed the time like this, and only had some form of trouble once.  
  
"New books and classes, huh? What's up with that?"  
  
Hermione glanced up sharply at James, and almost screamed when she found how obnoxiously close his face was. Good Lord, he looked like Harry. But they didn't have the same green eyes, filled with wisdom and caring, and he just... wasn't Harry. Definitely NOT a replacement.  
  
"I'm the grader, remember? Trade student. I'm just doing the same classes at a higher level is all."  
  
"And in a different order, I can't help but notice, without any fifth years."  
  
"Well, this is a sixth year schedule." That said, Hermione returned to 'The Difference Between Herbs, Fungi, and Unicorns' and hoped James would catch the hint and leave.  
  
He didn't.  
  
"I think that you're avoiding us," he said, voice dripping something cynical sounding. Not quite sarcasm.  
  
"Ya think?" Hermione asked. She looked up at him and jumped again slightly at how close his proximity was. Deciding to be blunt, in case he were slower than his son, Hermione said, "Go away, James. I want to be left alone."  
  
He sat there in front of her for a moment and held her gaze. After a while of not blinking, she lifted her chin slightly and her eyes darted somewhere behind James then back to him in an unmistakably gesture to leave. He sighed, got up, and left up the boys' dormitory.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Hermione managed to review all of her books before falling back into a semi-conscious sleep, in which dreams off being trapped in the wrong timeline until she died haunted her and woke her up in enough time to get to the great hall and breakfast when there were only very few students.  
  
Thrilled that there were only three Gryffindors up (the head girl and prefects) at the other end of the table, Hermione let herself sit down and eat quickly like that while taking out her schedule and wondering if she could memorize it in record time.  
  
Stomach fuller than it had been in the mornings since she had gotten back there, Hermione exited the great hall just as the noise level began to pick up and she saw the marauders out of the corner of her eye.  
  
After taking her morning "medications" she found her classroom, and sat down just as the teacher and students walked in.  
  
All of the sixth years were older, thus, bigger than Hermione in every aspect, and she was only slightly intimidated by them  
  
After her slight introduction in every class (her classes hadn't changed, just the order they were in and their grade level) she found that these classes were /much/ more challenging.  
  
And when classes were finally over for the day, Hermione could only compare the amount of homework she had to the amount she had gotten before the finals at first year. She took her 'medications' then found her shady corner, getting to work on her homework. It was something to do, to keep her mind off things.  
  
The marauders didn't bother her, nor did anybody else, and even Lily seemed to view Hermione from an exasperated point of view.  
  
The next day was no different, and when the weekend rolled around, Hermione was sitting in her corner with papers and books strewn around her, feeling almost giddy from the amount of homework she had. She had tried to do some of it cold turkey, but now discovered that sixth year level was much too high for her.  
  
Another marauder-free week passed, and it was on Friday, at the end of the day, that the marauders approached her again.  
  
"Falling behind in your work?" Sirius asked, startling her.  
  
Hermione looked around. Nobody else was in the darkened common room. She looked back at him.  
  
"Go away. If you'd like the truth, no, I'm not. I'd just like to get it done on time, and I will be falling behind if you don't leave me alone." She waited a moment, but he didn't leave. On the contrary, he shuffled some papers and books aside and around, then sat down next to her and leaned over, looking at her current two and a half foot essay on werewolves.  
  
"You seem to know a lot about werewolves," he observed.  
  
"It's called paying attention in class. You ought to try it sometime, it really pays off on your grade."  
  
"Touché," he said wisely, "but I know more about werewolves than you think."  
  
"Ho yeah?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes, 'Don't give yourself away,' a little voice in the back of her mind said. 'Bah! Show that little bastard who's the Smart One and who can push around who!' her integrity cried. "What, have you seen one up close and talked to one?" chalk one up for integrity.  
  
"Yes, actually. Have you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Really? When?"  
  
"As if I'm telling you that," Hermione paused. Oh, what the hell. "In my third year, a werewolf taught one of my classes."  
  
"Still with the trade student thing, huh?" he asked, rolling his eyes heavenward. "All right, then, two can play at that game. What was this doggy-boy's surname?"  
  
'Yeah, right, like I'm going to tell you that.' "I can't remember."  
  
"Humph." He snorted. "Sure, you remember. Alright, Mrs. I've-seen-a- werewolf-up-close, what's it look like?"  
  
"Taller than me, very good teacher, all the students loved him, actually kind of cute..."  
  
"No you idiot, as a werewolf."  
  
"Oh." Hermione paused, than recited (by heart) her essay she had done for Snape that third year.  
  
When that was done, she told him to go away, and went on with her work. For a while, she thought he had gone, he was so still and quiet, but well after one in the morning, when she finally finished and had stuck everything in her (borrowed. Borrowed, dangit!) book bag, and she stood up and stretched, he stood up as well, startling her.  
  
"Are you /still/ here?" she asked impatiently. "I thought you went and did something useful, like, like going to bed."  
  
"Nope," he told her brightly, if not a little thickly from lack of sleep. Hermione glanced at him sideways, looking at him strangely. "I told you I'd hound you until you told me the truth."  
  
"Sirius, I'm a trade student, get over it."  
  
"That's not true. I can tell, I've been lying all my life."  
  
"Don't stop now," Hermione told him sarcastically, collapsing on her usual squishy armchair.  
  
"Why don't you ever sleep up in the girls' dormitory?" he asked, shoving her over and plopping down next to her.  
  
"That's none of your business. I'm going to sleep, because it's the smart sensible thing to do, and /you/ can't stop me."  
  
Now it was Sirius' turn to look at her strangely from the side.  
  
"Yeah. Sure," he told her. She glared at him. "Then go to sleep if you're going to." He smirked self-consciously. "I can't stop you, remember?"  
  
"Not while you're hovering above me, no way!" she hissed.  
  
"Why not? I can't stop you from sleeping, right? So, what's up?"  
  
"The ceiling is what's up, first of all, and second; I don't sleep well with others! Go to bed."  
  
"It's not like I'm sleeping with you."  
  
"So? You're still just sitting there and staring at me, and I can't fall asleep with you doing that."  
  
"I'll go to bed if you spill the beans."  
  
"Hah! Nice try! I know what you're doing, you're going to try and get me to tell you the truth by making me tired and delusional! Well, I'll have you know, that won't work on me! nope, nothing works on me!" with that triumphant speech said, she crossed her legs and arms, then proceeded to glare at him.  
  
Sirius stared at her.  
  
"Okay," he said at last. "I haven't got a problem with that." 


	11. Remus' Charm

A/N: back to Monday at Hogwarts! I'm skipping over the weekend and stuff. Pretend there ain't no such thing as a weekend! At least for now. *shifty eyes, cough*  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Sirius and Hermione didn't really stay up all night glaring at each other.  
  
Eventually, Hermione had slipped unwillingly into a doze, and Sirius took that chance to do the same. He ended up waking up seconds before she did, and decided not to hurt her pride any more by pointing out he'd woken up first.  
  
She glared at him for a bit more, then got up and went down to breakfast. He followed her.  
  
"You really don't know when to give up, do you?" she asked incredulously when he sat down next to her at the semi-empty table.  
  
"Actually, I was going to say the same thing," he announced, then helped himself to some food. Hermione watched him almost admiringly for a moment (the kid really didn't have any sense of 'stop' and 'go') then grabbed some toast and left.  
  
She easily made it down to the fruit portrait and then into the kitchens where about a thousand house elves scurried around. She didn't bother with S.P.E.W. because even if she did succeed, their memory would be wiped anyway.  
  
After waiting patiently for those crowded around her to calm down enough, she asked if they had any coffee or something with a large amount of sugar or caffeine.  
  
Thirty minutes later she left with a mug in one hand and stuffed a number of things down her robes with the other. Madame Pomfrey gave her potions, then Hermione downed the rest of her (it wasn't coffee... something like butterbeer, she hadn't really been listening when the elves were telling her) and let Pomfrey deal with the mug.  
  
She managed to stuff more purely-sugar things down her throat before first class, and she buzzed around until lunch. After her potions and eating the rest of her stuff, she found the house elves had kindly started putting coffee on the tables for drinking choices.  
  
She stayed in the great hall long enough to down a couple mugs of the stuff (it was nasty, yes, but who cared when filled with more sugar than one can hold?) then ran out again like usual. She figured everybody that had seen her was in shock to see she had stayed in the hall for more than half a second.  
  
The rest of the day continued like this, and Hermione chose to do her homework in the library. There wasn't a lot, so she finished it by the time the library closed. When she got into the common room, this time instead of Sirius or James bothering her, Remus sat down quietly next to her and didn't say anything.  
  
It was quite unnerving, to say the least.  
  
"How did you know about the kitchens?" he asked at last.  
  
"Kitchens?" she echoed.  
  
"Yeah. This morning you got into the kitchens through a secret passageway. How'd you know?"  
  
She blinked slowly and spared him a glance.  
  
"Erm," couldn't manage much more than that. finally, logical excuse thought up, Hermione said, "I didn't know it was a secret passageway. Being a trade student, I was given an extensive map of this school."  
  
"Really? Can I see it?"  
  
"Well, not exactly."  
  
"You don't have it."  
  
"Nope. Well, see, a friend of mine has it, seeing as it's his."  
  
"The headmaster, you mean?"  
  
"No-" Hermione you idiot! "Yes."  
  
"Ah." He sounded sincere enough, but it was obvious he didn't believe her. "So, can you tell me about your home?" he gave her a warm, encouraging smile. Damn sense of sensitivity.  
  
"It isn't really different from here." She mumbled, averting her gaze. The common room was almost empty.  
  
"You said you were Muggle-born, right? Pretty cool when you got your letter, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, it was."  
  
"Were your parents happy?"  
  
"Oh, I dunno. Yeah, I think they are."  
  
"Interesting. Do you have many friends?"  
  
"Just two, best friends."  
  
"What are their names?"  
  
"Harry and Ron."  
  
"What are they like?"  
  
"Oh, Ron has this red hair and freckles, the trademark of his family, and Harry..... looks kinda like James, except with green eyes. And maybe a little shorter, skinnier."  
  
"Ah. Are they Muggle-born also?"  
  
"Well, not exactly, no. Ron's family is all pureblood, and I think Harry's father is pureblood, I'm not sure. But his mother was Muggle-born."  
  
"That's cool. So, is your real school as good as Hogwarts?"  
  
"Educational system is a bit different, I think... and then there's all those little time tidbits... but otherwise, the same."  
  
"Oohhhhhhhhh," he said.  
  
"Are you done questioning me for Sirius?" Hermione asked after a moment's pause. Remus burst out laughing.  
  
"You're a smart little prat, aren't you? Yeah, I'm guessing I'm done for now." He got up and stretched his legs. "Good night."  
  
"Yeah. Right. Ditto."  
  
Again, Hermione waited for the common room to empty before collapsing on her squishy armchair and zoning out.  
  
.  
  
the next morning, up early as usual, Hermione ran over ideas to get herself back in her own time. She certainly couldn't stay here any longer, that was for sure. She needed a way to contact Harry.  
  
But how?  
  
If she were to leave a note, say, under Harry's bed, what was to say he'd find it over twenty years later? Or, what if it was found before then, and she was given away? It was too risky, to do something like that.  
  
But she couldn't think of any other way of contacting them. She sure as heck couldn't grab a telephone and ask for a pickup.  
  
She went through the day silently, as usual, but couldn't focus on her homework. She took her medications early, then settled in the library. She bullied her mind into writing part of an essay on the behavior of a teething octuai, how to and the effects of mixing love potions with clover leaves instead of mint leaves, and exactly why Muggles needed airplanes and how they used them.  
  
Eventually, the librarian kicked her out and she ended up staying late in the common room once more, struggling with the parts and components of the first-ever made wand. She couldn't focus, her mind kept on shifting back to Harry, then how she'd end up dying in this timeline anyway... before she'd even gotten a chance to tell him her feelings... her vision blurred, and Hermione sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
Her already sleep-blurred vision only blurred even more as tears pooled between her eyelids and began to leak out, dropping onto her essay and ruining it. She shoved it away and curled into a ball, as tight and little as she could make herself.  
  
She was really stuck here. There was no way she could get back home, and she'd die... there was really no point... oh, Harry...  
  
'Don't cry, Herms,' she thought, almost angry with herself. 'Don't weaken yourself and sink so low that you give up completely......... they'll find a way... if they don't, you will... you'll get back, somehow... somehow...' she grabbed a pillow to muffle her sobs almost soundless.  
  
~  
  
"So, what'd you figure out?" Sirius asked that night, plopping down on Remus' bed. James and Peter did the same. Remus, seeing he wasn't going to get any more peace (and the look on Sirius' face was to die for!) put down his book and sat up.  
  
"She's a smart girl," he started. "She knows some secret passages, though how she found out I don't know. You might be interested to know that she's a Muggle-born, like Lily Evens, right? She has two friends, and says their names are Harry and Ron. Both male, in other words. She doesn't seem to be from around here, but she acts as though she's been attending this school from the start." He paused, exhaling slowly. "You're right, Padfoot. There's something strange about her that I don't like."  
  
"I think that she may know about you, Moony. I forgot to tell you guys, the other day, she was writing an essay on werewolves. I asked her how much she knew, and she said one taught one of her classes in her third year and she's seen one - transformed - up close. Could she know about that?" Sirius threw in quickly, almost anxiously.  
  
"If she does know about Moony, and she's seen him transform (which I doubt) then she'll probably know about us." James mused. "What do ya think, mate? Ever smelled any human girls in your third year?"  
  
Remus shook his head. "No. I could tell there were humans close by, but I don't think any of them were distinctly female... or young, for that matter."  
  
"Maybe she's a spy?" Peter put in squeakily. "From the Ministry, to try and dig up dirt on Hogwarts and then shut the school down."  
  
"Don't be silly, Wormtail," Remus said, rolling his eyes.  
  
There was a moment of silence between the four of them. "Well, I'm ready to try some Veritaserum. How about you guys?" Sirius suggested lamely.  
  
"What? And take out all the fun and challenge out of figuring a mysterious and rather cute girl out?" James asked, but he turned his gaze eagerly to Remus. "Can we do it, Remmy? Moony, ol' pal?"  
  
"I don't think so," Peter said, answering for the werewolf. "It takes a whole month to mature, I've heard..."  
  
"So we get some from what's her name the potions master," Sirius said brightly, dropping his voice a few notches. "And if that's not possible, then I can wait a month to get the truth out of her. The only /real/ challenge will be getting her to drink it."  
  
"True," James agreed. Peter looked momentarily baffled by the proceedings, then nodded his head vigorously and looked to Remus as well. Remus clicked his tongue against his teeth, closing his eyes and shaking his head lightly.  
  
"You guys, you're all stupid idiots, all of you." You muttered.  
  
"Does that mean it's possible?" James asked, thrilled. Remus opened his eyes and directed a (vicious) glare in Sirius' direction.  
  
"It's only /possible/ because I pity Padfoot's inability to snag a date with her." He said, sighing.  
  
"Then we'll do it," James decided, finishing the conversation. His hazel eyes sparkled venomously. "This'll be /way/ more fun than hexing Snivellus into the next dimension..." 


	12. Inkbottles and Robes

A/N: ooohhhhhhh, the marauders PLAN! _ heeheehee... and in case you haven't noticed ~these ~ swirly ~ dashy ~ thingies ~ represent ~ the ~ marauders' ~ point ~ of ~ view~. Okay? Okay.  
  
I don't own Harry Potter, btw  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
~  
  
The next morning, Remus was up first (as usual) and kicked Sirius awake before collapsing in bed once more himself. Hey. He was getting paid to wake him up!  
  
Sirius, meanwhile, called Remus a few names, then retreated into a shower before heading down to the common room with still-wet hair. The sun still had yet to rise fully, so the common room was still somewhat in shadows. Automatically, the animagi's head turned toward the squishy armchair Hermione Granger was usually found sleeping in. seeing her not there, his eyes turned immediately towards the corner in the far right side of the room, where her papers and books were strewn. And there she was, curled on her side around a pillow in the middle of them all.  
  
He allowed himself a momentary smile. She really was a cutie, he had to admit. The other marauders could think he was /interested/ in her in whatever way they liked, but all he wanted was the truth and the ego boost of knowing he had broken such a strong-willed girl. Woman. Whatever.  
  
Moving quietly, he practically tiptoed over to that side of the room, carefully stepping in gaps between books and/or papers, nudging a few aside with a toe every now and then. Eventually, he knelt in front of her, and noted she had been crying. Probably cried herself to sleep, by the looks of it.  
  
Poor thing. It was a shame she didn't spare herself the stress and just tell him about herself. Then he'd be her friend and help her out with her work. So would the other three, too, for that matter. And her life would be so much more easier.  
  
Carefully, he reached over and brushed stray strands of hair off her forehead and cheeks. He made a face. Hermione looked like she hadn't used a brush or changed clothes in quite some time. In fact, starting from the moment he first saw her, it didn't seem as though she may have changed at all...  
  
Maybe she didn't have anything to change /into/. Now /that/ was sad. Sad and pathetic. She reminded him of Moony, in plenty of ways.  
  
"Hey," he breathed in her ear, effectively waking her up. She burrowed into her pillow even more, mumbling something incoherent. Sirius jerked it out of her grasp. "Wake up, you," he whispered.  
  
She opened one eye, then slowly sat up. "Go 'way," she muttered, probably intending to fall back into her warm spot, but instead falling into Sirius' shoulder. She mumbled something about smelling good, then relaxed. Sirius gave her a moment, then jerked to his feet quickly, grabbing her arms and pulling her up. She seemed more awake now.  
  
"What do /you/ want?" she hissed, jerking her arms free and stumbling backwards over an open book, stepped on an inked bottled. It cracked, and she yelped, lifting up her foot and falling backwards, hitting the wall and sliding down with a few curses.  
  
Sirius grinned at her.  
  
"Not a morning person, eh?" he asked quietly. "Don't worry. Anyway, I figured you might want to borrow a somewhat more... cleaner, pair of robes."  
  
"What?" she asked stupidly, scowling as she ripped a piece of the inkbottle out of the bottom of her foot. Red blood mixed with black ink, and they dripped onto the carpet. She bit her lip, hissing through her teeth in an attempt not to show any pain. He clicked his tongue against his teeth and knelt in front of her.  
  
"Want some help? That's got to hurt."  
  
"No, it doesn't," she half snarled, trying to get to her feet again. Failed, of course, but tried all the same.  
  
He shook his head. "Tell you what; you can borrow my robes until yours are cleaned - because let's face it, you need something to wear - and I'll take you down to the hospital wing."  
  
"Hell, no," she snarled again, once more attempting to regain her footing. "Leave me alone, I don't need any help from you in the least bit! Go away, go bother somebody else for a change!" tears burned in her eyes.  
  
"No."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm not going to bother anybody else. You're special." That said, he grabbed her under the armpits and hauled her up and over his shoulder in one, fluid motion.  
  
"No! no, what are you doing?? Put me down you, you, you rapist, you!" she cried, grabbing the back of his robes to keep herself from falling. "Put me down, put me down!" he dumped her on a squishy armchair, and she hissed through her teeth, reaching down and grabbing her blood and ink stained foot.  
  
"Will you let me help you, now?"  
  
"Leave me alone!"  
  
He gave an exasperated sigh and bounded up to his bed, which he fished under until some clean black robes were in hand. Then he bounded back down to where Hermione was attempting to stop the bleeding by shifting to that her head hung off the side and held her foot in both hands, which were gooey from blood and ink, now, too. She was openly crying, silently, though.  
  
He supported her into a sitting position.  
  
"Leave me alone," she hissed, but he just batted her hands away, jerked her robe off, and jerked his on over her head.  
  
Of course this involved a lot of swearing and threats on her part (it wasn't the wearing-a-boy's-clothes part, it was the moral of being seen in lingerie part) but she eventually gave up when he used her robes to wrap around her foot.  
  
"I... hate... you..." she hissed through her teeth, leaning on him for support momentarily before he picked her up ("Hey! Stop it!") and shifted her onto his back. "I don't need a piggy back ride, I'm not a little kid!"  
  
"Shut up," he mumbled, jerking her up so that she was in a more comfortable position. "Hold still, I'm probably saving your life..."  
  
"Are not," she said, openly unclenching her teeth and raising her voice to say so. She sniffed hard. With tears came a runny nose.  
  
He ended up carrying her like this all the way across the school to the hospital wing.  
  
Madame Pomfrey, shockingly enough, was already up and bustling about. That may have had something to do with the two kids in separate beds (must have tried dueling... poor blokes) wrapped in white, but otherwise this was a surprise.  
  
"Oh, what did you *do* to her?" Pomfrey cried, catching sight of the two of them. The two boys in beds across the room looked over interestedly.  
  
"I didn't do anything," Sirius whined. "She stepped on an inkbottle and it broke-"  
  
"Put her down, down I say!" Sirius blinked, then turned and dumped Hermione unceremoniously onto the nearest bed. "Oh, you!" Pomfrey gave him a dirty look before taking Hermione's foot and jerking the stained robes off of it.  
  
"Will I be able to make it to classes?" Hermione asked softly.  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm sure," Pomfrey murmured, cleaning the wound off first before numbing it with a blue liquid to take out the rest of the bottle pieces. Then she cleaned it thoroughly again with some more liquids that stank and burned so much that Hermione's tears never ceased once through the whole procedure, though she was very good at biting into her lip to keep from making any sound. Then the gash was healed over, and Pomfrey wrapped it just in case. "Might as well take your medications while you're here," the healer mumbled, scuttling about and grabbing bottles and glasses. Once that was done, Hermione let Sirius lead her out by her wrist.  
  
Once out of eye and earshot, though, she jerked her arm away and mumbled a thanks before bolting ahead of him up to the common room.  
  
Sirius considered following her, but decided against it and went to the great hall early.  
  
~  
  
Hermione scrambled about, grabbing her papers and books and such, picking up the inkbottle's pieces and cleaning up the ink and blood. She ignored the strange looks she was given as students got up and went down for breakfast, and by the time she had everything in her bag and organized, the great hall would be too filled for her to run in and out for something to eat.  
  
Not that it mattered, as she really didn't care. After shoving her bare feet into her shoes (her socks had just been removed, obviously) she grabbed her bag, fingers catching in the longer sleeves of the robe, and she almost tripped over the hem on her way out.  
  
Throughout the day entirely, it wasn't long before Hermione was completely annoyed with the sleeves (which were longer than her hands and would never stay folded up), the hem of the robe (at least an inch too long, and she managed to trip over it ever five or ten minutes... literally!) and the robe's size in general, especially around her shoulders. It dwarfed her, so she looked a lot smaller and skinnier than she really was.  
  
But otherwise, she was grateful to Sirius in his generosity. Maybe not so that he had seen her in a pair of underwear and spandex shorts and a sports bra, but after avoiding him all day she felt slightly more better about it.  
  
When classes were over she hid in the library and once more stayed there until she was kicked out. After the usual stop at the hospital wing, she found herself a new corner in the common room (just as shadowy and secluded) and managed to get a good chunk of her homework done before she couldn't focus anymore.  
  
In an almost desperate attempt to get Harry and going home out of her mind, Hermione looked across the room to the marauders (who were three minus Remus crowded around something whispering) and considered thanking the Black Haired Bimbo. Or glitter boy. Or whatever you called kids like Sirius.  
  
It was the right thing to do, and she had to do it. No doubt.  
  
But certainly not in front of anybody. The mumbled 'thanks' she had given him while running away certainly wouldn't do, he probably hadn't even heard her in the first place. What did he think of her? A stuck-up brat? Probably.  
  
She packed her stuff up and forced herself to finish the last thing she had due the next day, mind wandering and glancing up to see if /He/ was alone yet.  
  
Soon the common room was empty, and she sighed. After packing up her stuff, she considered a squishy armchair, but instead grabbed al the pillows in the room and made a little borrow or nest of some sort in her new corner. She settled in it, and easily let herself drift off...  
  
She'd never get home. Never. Why even bother fighting it? She'd die anyway. Hermione was startled awake by three voices. She sat bolt upright, listening, and there was immediately silence in the room. Slowly, blinking hard, she looked around the room. She hadn't been out for very long, because the sun was just finishing setting. Marveling somewhat, she got up and went to the window.  
  
Two figures were out on the grounds. She only had to watch them for a little bit to figure out they were Remus and Pomfrey. She shook her head, going back to her nest and making herself comfortable. Then she considered, smiled to herself, got back up, and went to the portrait hole (grabbing the hem of Sirius' robes as she tripped over them once again). She heard a barely concealed snort, but gritted her teeth and slowly pushed the portrait hole wide open.  
  
She waited a moment, leaning 'round and looking out, pretending to look both ways to see if anyone was coming. She thought for a moment she heard footsteps, and waited until they had faded into silence. Then she sighed, and pulled the portrait closed, going back to her nest/burrow.  
  
The marauders out to the shrieking shack, she supposed. 


	13. More Tears and Planning

A/N: I still can't get over how many ppl are reading this! :D Hermi Lu, welcome to my list of reviewers! *points at other reviewers, who all glance uneasily at each other* PLUS, I'm in a good mood today (July first) so I think I'll pop more than just one or two chapters at once! :D heehee and the "legal you've already got it, illegal you can /get/ it" line I don't own, either. My friend (KKgirl) used it on me once, I think she read it or she used it in one of her stories. Anyway, thought I'd let you know.  
  
Oh yeah, did I forget my disclaimer? *looks at the other twelve chapters* well, crap.  
  
DISCLAIMER: look, see? I put the word "disclaimer" in first! Take THAT you blood-sucking lawyers!  
  
*long awkward silence*  
  
... Did I just insult myself?  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
The rest of the week passes marauder-free for Hermione, and she had only one problem with Lily, who had seemed ready to forgive her for implying that she was drunk.  
  
None of that had to do with why Hermione was currently in tears in the library, though.  
  
The first reason was that she had now been gone a month. One whole complete total month away, at home away from home. The second was that the homework she currently suffered under compared only to that of her third year. She had taken more classes, so avoid the common room (reasons unknown) classes lasting from before even breakfast to after even dinner. And the third was that her hope of ever getting back was dying, slowly and painfully.  
  
It was now the weekend (Saturday, around lunch time), and over half the school was out at Hogsmeade.  
  
So the library was fairly empty, and anybody present didn't take notice of Our Heroine as she buried her face in her hands surrounded by books and papers.  
  
~  
  
"So, this thing takes a month to make, right?" James asked, plopping down next to Peter with a mug. "Is there any way we can shorten the time frame? Does it need to happen, like, at a direct time?" he meant their Monthly Meetings.  
  
"Nah, the longer the better." Remus had a book open on his lap, compliments the restricted section of the library and a silencing charm. "It uses things we won't find in the student cubby, though."  
  
"Like what?" Sirius asked, trading his empty mug with James' half full one. "I mean, if it's legal you've probably already got it, and if it's illegal you can /get/ it, right?"  
  
"Yeah, legal you've got it, illegal you can get it!" Peter repeated helpfully. James snatched his almost empty mug back, drained it, then thumped Peter on the head with it.  
  
"Not necessarily. It's not that some supplies are illegal, it's just that they're impossible to get hold of."  
  
"Impossible to get hold of?" James echoed faintly.  
  
"Nothing is impossible to get hold of," Sirius pointed out. "Mrs. I'm-the- queen-of-England-and-I-teach-potions will have all of that stuff."  
  
Remus stared at him, narrowing his eyes slightly and pursing his lips. "Come here and look at the ingredients why don't you?" he hissed, scooting back in his seat a little bit. Peter got up, walked over, and leaned over his right side, trying to read the list of things it needed, and James did the same on Remus' other side. Sirius got on the table and read everything upside down.  
  
He had the book swabbed in the invisibility cloak with nothing showing except part of a page, and that was the one they managed to read.  
  
"Well, most of that stuff'll be in the student cupboard. Potions lady will have the rest."  
  
"I highly doubt that "potions lady" will have five different types of venom."  
  
"And the powdered leaves, what-were-they-called." Peter added.  
  
"There's a whole bunch of stuff she won't have," Remus repeated, rolling his eyes. "Either way, though, we might as well get started now. We'll get what we can. The tnim leaves and paro barriers can most likely be found in the forbidden forest, and we can mix different things together and drain them to get the liquids. We'll steal what we can, and worry about the rest later."  
  
"Steal? My, but that's such a strong word. I prefer 'borrow'." Sirius said.  
  
"No, no, borrow without permission? That's stealing." James paused. "Nah, we just need things that have been 'graciously donated' by Snake Queen."  
  
"Fine, whatever," Remus sighed.  
  
"Let's get started!" Peter cried, jumping to his feet. "Let's do the impossible! Let's do what no other student has done before!"  
  
The entire pub went quiet, and all eyes turned to Peter.  
  
"Um, Wormy, I think you've had a bit too much butterbeer."  
  
~  
  
'Must stay awake. Must not cry. Must do homework. Must stay awake. Must not cry. Must do homework. Must stay awake...' Hermione ended up dozing anyway.  
  
"She looks like you, Moon," a voice remarked, almost directly above Hermione. Her eyes snapped open and her head snapped up.  
  
Her vision was blurry from lack of sleep, but she still knew James and Remus. Both were standing over her.  
  
"Hey, Granger," James said brightly. "Doing homework on this fine, sunny day? Why aren't you out in Hogsmeade?"  
  
"I don't need to go. Don't want to. I have work. Go away." She said as firmly as she could, dropping her head again and trying to focus on the parchment in front of her.  
  
"You don't fool us," James said, collapsing in the seat next to her after shoving all the books off. Papers went flying. "I've seen Moony here like that tons of times before, it's impossible to do so much work when you're so tired." "You'd better believe him," Remus added softly, perching himself on the side of the table after nudging a few papers aside. "you're far enough behind already, I can tell."  
  
"I take more classes than you do."  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah! So go away, both of you."  
  
James shrugged and stood up. "Fine. We'll ask you later. Coming, Moony?"  
  
"Yeah." Remus stood up quickly and cast an apologetic glance over his shoulder at Hermione, who bent down and gathered up the things James had dumped on the floor.  
  
Hermione, though, after putting the stuff back on the chair, only felt tears pool her eyes and fall as she began packing her things (borrowed, all them!) up. Stuffing the bag, she held it precariously as she wiped at her eyes angrily and sniffed.  
  
After a trip to the hospital wing, she placed the stuff in the corner of the room where she had slept and then left to go to Hogsmeade.  
  
It wasn't too hard to find privacy there, and after a few butterbeers Hermione's tears stopped.  
  
She went back to the common room, curled up like a cat on a chair, and went to sleep. Right. She was far enough behind, might as well give up and start over again.  
  
~  
  
By the end of the day, up on Remus' bed, the marauders threw all the things they had together and counted up what more they would need.  
  
"Potions Girl had a lot more than I expected," Remus said.  
  
"To hell with it, she had almost everything. What are we going to do about those?" James pointed to something on the page.  
  
"Those come later on."  
  
"Let's make it!" Sirius urged. "C'mon! Where are we gonna brew this stuff?"  
  
"It only takes a week to brew," Remus explained. "And a month to mature. See, the poison has to be bland enough not to kill whomever is taking it."  
  
"Oh." The remaining three glanced at each other. "Right. So, where are we gonna brew this stuff?"  
  
~ 


	14. Evans and Potter

A/N: WEE! MORE reviewers!!! Omg!!! Joani (yup, I like tears and that stuff... isn't that pathetic of me?) clare (glad you like! And WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THE FIRST SB/HG FIC YOU'VE EVER READ?!? I mean, there are a whole bunch more that are WAY better than mine! I'd recommend some, but I'm feeling hotheaded at the moment and I'm still basking in the glory of being... me! hah!) Haebrethiliel (cute name! I can't wait either, but it's SO gonna take me forever at the rate I'm going...) Romm (yup, Moaning Myrtle croaked about twenty or so years before if I have my facts right... I'm not sure. But it certainly IS convenient, eh? I hadn't thought about that... thank you!) limegreenlion (lol, you sound like my brother! Well, not a lot, but he's a perverted butthead. Or so in my eyes. His girlfriend obviously doesn't think so because she hasn't run off to wash her hands yet. ^_^ aren't I mean? Lol) and Li-Chan (yay! Another new reviewer! Welcome to the team, and I'm very happy you like this! :D)  
  
To any I didn't get to, THANK YOU!!!!! And Heather, I tried to send you that chappy about four or five times but myownemail sucks the big fat hairy one, so I got a friend to do it for me. :p so if you got the same email a hundred times over, I'm sorry! -_-0 lol  
  
And, peeps, I'm sorry I didn't get another few more chappies out yesterday. ^_^() my good mood went down the toilet when I checked out a fic I really shouldn't have. It was my own fault, and I got all depressed, BUT NOW after a breakfast of egg mcmuffins and a trip to the doctors in which I snitched more gloves than I should have when the docs weren't looking, I am feeling good enough to AT LEAST get the potion popped! That means I'll be writing an entire month in one day. Good lord.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
"Erm, excuse me? Miss, ah, Miss Granger?" Lily Evans leaned over and poked the said girl gently. "Granger? My-own is your name, was it?"  
  
Hermione continued using one of her books as a pillow. Lily glanced at her friend, who gave an emphatic nod.  
  
"Erm, my-own, wake up!"  
  
Snore.  
  
"My-own!" Lily gave an even harder poke, and this time it woke the brunette up. "My-own, c'mon! Wake up!"  
  
Oh, she woke up alright. Her eyes snapped open and her head up, and she was on her feet in an instant.  
  
"Rise and shine," the other girl said. Her name was something like Mary or something ordinary like that. She looked somewhat familiar, but then, everybody did by now.  
  
"Hey, My-own, we were watching and couldn't help but notice..."  
  
"Her-my-oh-nee," Hermione grumbled, sitting back down. "Listen, Miss Evans, I'm very busy right now, so if you could go away, now, please..."  
  
"We /know/ you're busy!" Mary intervened. Hermione blinked at her. "Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Carrie Bones, and my brother is the best. But as I was saying before..."  
  
"You two don't catch a hint, do you??" Hermione hissed, glaring at them. "I want to be left alone! I've dropped enough hints already, haven't I? But apparently you're too thick to..."  
  
"Okay, you're stressed, we can understand that," Lily snapped, ending Hermione's would-be speech. "We also understand that, being new here, you've expected some hostility, and in doing so have gotten just that, not to mention your homework overload. And then we figured out that those boys are bothering you..."  
  
"And we decided that you could use a break. You need a friend, girl!" Carrie finished, looking as though she were telling the truth but would rather not be one of the said 'friends'.  
  
Lily nodded emphatically. "Right! So, why don't you come out and spend the weekend with us?"  
  
"I'd rather not," Hermione said, taken aback. "I've got enough homework as it is."  
  
"We'll help you with your homework, okay? Then you have to spend tomorrow and the day after with us."  
  
"I highly doubt all of this can be done in one night."  
  
"But if we DO get it done tonight, then will you relax already and-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I get the point!" Hermione paused.  
  
"Plus, we've noticed /those boys/ bothering you, and I personally have been trying to keep them away and stuff, but now they're eyeing you like they've got something planned..." Lily trailed off. "Anyway, you don't need them at a time like this. Fact is, nobody needs /them/ at all, especially James, he's so conceited..."  
  
"Right! So, is it a deal?" Carrie finished.  
  
Hermione considered briefly. If they /had/ been keeping the marauders away, that had been a real big favor... and Lily didn't seem like the one to lie.  
  
Not over something as trivial as this, anyway.  
  
"Yeah, sure, I guess," she said after a while.  
  
She owed them for their indirect help. And as long as she didn't get anything out of Lily that would have lasting effects... perhaps she ought to get a picture, maybe get it for Harry....  
  
That might hurt him, though. Did she /have/ to rub it in his nose that she knew his parents and he didn't?  
  
But Lily and Carrie were already sitting with her, taking books and quills, glancing over notes, chattering on about something that's nothing.  
  
And by the time they got kicked out of the library, Hermione was done (shocking surprise, surprise) and even organized.  
  
"So, where have you been sleeping?" Lily asked once they were out in the hall. "I mean, other than the library. I've seen you in the common room from time to time, but you always go to bed so late and get up so early, I could never figure it out..."  
  
"I'll be right back," Carrie said as they entered the common room, sparing Hermione the direct chance to answer. "I've got to talk to my brother about something."  
  
"Yeah, okay. Anyway, Herm, wherever you've been going for the night, why don't you stay with the girls and I? We're camping out on the grounds and stuff, since we can go to Hogsmeade next weekend. Waddaya think?" Lily almost shoved Hermione down into a seat (after shoving the marauders themselves out of it) and perched herself next to her.  
  
Once more, Hermione was spared the challenge of speaking when James got to his feet.  
  
"Careful, Evans," he said, using his left hand to mess up his hair even more, "we would've moved if you'd have asked."  
  
"We would?" Peter asked, also scrambling to his feet.  
  
James stepped on his foot. "Yes," he hissed, in a tone obviously meant only for Peter. "We /would/."  
  
Lupin and Sirius were watching from a slight distance.  
  
"Well, seeing as you obviously *don't* have the time to get out of my way, and I obviously don't have the time to *ask* you to get out of my way, I decided I'd *get* you out of my way." She paused, reflecting over her words briefly. Then she gave him a sickly sweet smile that would have made anyone sick. "Would you please get out of my way?" she asked, her voice matching her face.  
  
"Only if you-"  
  
Carrie, who had literally bounced over, cut off James' reply. She looked anxious.  
  
"Lily, it's really important, my brother-" she stopped, seeing James. "Were you saying something? I'm so sorry." She said nastily, not even bothering to mask her voice and face over like Lily. "Anyway, Lils, he says-"  
  
This time James cut Carrie off.  
  
"Watch it, Bones," his tone was surprisingly dangerous. He focused his attention on Lily again. "Evans, I'd-"  
  
However, Lupin had decided to get caught up in the silent fray.  
  
"C'mon, Prongs, that's enough. Let's go," he said.  
  
It was then that Hermione noticed how tense the room was. Everybody was silent, watching earnestly.  
  
She couldn't stop herself from raising her eyebrows.  
  
It looked (and sounded) like James liked Lily but she rather hated him. That could /not/ be good for the future of Harry... had she somehow indirectly done this?  
  
"Lupin's right," Hermione spoke quickly, standing up. She grabbed Lily's elbow and tugged gently, telling her without words she'd rather not fight. "Let's go somewhere else. I left one of the books n the library anyway." She squeezed, tugging slightly again. Lily caught the hint and threw a dirty look in James' direction.  
  
"Right, Hermione. You coming, Carrie?"  
  
"No, I've been trying to tell you- oh, never mind." Carrie threw her arms in the air. "You and Granger go, I'll see you with the others on the grounds."  
  
Lily shrugged, almost wrenching her arm out of Hermione's grasp. "Whatever you say. This way, Granger, I know a shortcut to the library..." she made her way past Hermione and Carrie. Hermione avoided looking in the marauders' direction as she followed the red head.  
  
~  
  
It was only after they were all up in the safe privacy of their dorm room that James rounded on Remus and Peter. The latter was first.  
  
"Just /where/ did you get the idea to talk back like that, to interrupt?" he snarled. "You know just as well that Evans does /not/ need to know how narcissistic you are!" then he turned to Remus, who had perched himself on the side of his bed, pulling out The Book. "And you! Why the " here he swore at him for a while " and I think you're aware that Evans would have said 'yes' if-" he trailed off, glancing at Sirius.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, sitting next to Remus and leaning over his shoulder. "So, now that we've got all the ingredients, that sure as heck took long enough, we need to find a place and start making it." The abrupt subject change was needed, and welcomed.  
  
"I'll be blunt and say that I don't know." Remus said simply, as though James' beforehand outburst hadn't happened. "Ideas are welcomed and appreciated."  
  
"Under my bed!"  
  
"No, Worm, we are /not/ making some illegal drink with five different types of poison in it under your bed."  
  
Peter seemed quite taken aback.  
  
"The bathroom," James said, sitting on Remus' other side.  
  
"Which one?" Sirius mused. "Last time I checked, all of them are in use."  
  
"The tunnel," Peter suggested. "The one under the tree..."  
  
"That's a big no-no," Remus snapped, then looked at James and Sirius. He seemed a bit jostled. "Like I said before, this takes a month to settle, and even so we'd lose it in there."  
  
"How could we lose a cauldron the size of a-"  
  
"No, not a cauldron. Apparently, I'm the only one reading the directions, aren't I?"  
  
"Yeah, you are. So, what? We can't use pewter?"  
  
"No. we mix it around in a cauldron and we collect the steam, and the steam is the actual potion. That stuff can't be let alone for the remaining days it takes, it'll have to be shaken nonstop, then it can /not/ be /touched/ or moved in the /slightest/ for as long as possible. A month in the least."  
  
"That's daft. How are we going to carry a bottle around and shake it nonstop for - how long?"  
  
"However long it takes."  
  
"However long it takes," Sirius imitated. "That doesn't inspire much confidence."  
  
"The three of you don't bother, then," Remus snapped. "I'll make it."  
  
"Right, thank you, Moony. But, erm, we still haven't gotten over where we'll be making it."  
  
"Didn't I just say to leave the potion to me? I'll... use that passageway in the mirror, behind that one mirror in the bathroom, remember?"  
  
"Great idea! And how are you going to escape for a week?"  
  
"That's where we decide /not/ to desert our dear friend in the favor he's doing for me," Sirius put in. "Say, he catches a bug. Nasty, nasty bug, and he's too egoistic to go to Pomfrey. So, he hides out in a bathroom for three days. Then one of his friends catches it. Isn't that sad? And so the circle of life goes."  
  
"That will /so/ not work," Remus said blandly. "You do what you like, so long. I can't be caught with an illegal potion, though, so be careful."  
  
"Right! Too the bathroom!" James jumped to his feet.  
  
~ 


	15. Leave it to Lily

A/N: I just watched a British movie! ................. Oh. My. Gawd. And I'm sorry about not getting more chappies out tonight. I've got a couple of scenes I can't wait to post (such as a Dream Scene, and that stuff! Wai!) and if I've forgotten to say it............ This is SO SB/HG so, like, shoo if you don't like that. I'm serious. For those of you that don't like that, this is your last chance. I'm gonna paste some more romantic stuff up, so, ya. If you don't like romance, beat it. That won't be for a bit, (actually, I'll start it with the Dream Scene I think!) but I figured I may warn you. =^_^= thanks for reading and reviewing!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
When Lily Evans had invited Hermione to "camp out" on the grounds, she had so conveniently forgotten to mention that every other fifth year had come, too. How were they all going to fit into a tent the size of a trashcan?  
  
A simple charm. So Hermione wasn't necessarily surprised.  
  
Lily was quick to find her closest friends (friendly with the entire school, that one) and dragged Our Heroine over to them. Introductions really weren't needed, but that didn't stop Lily.  
  
And then they were chatting together aimlessly about basically nothing, and the noise level was enough to give anybody a headache... which was when 'mione remembered she'd forgotten to get her potions from Pomfrey. She stood up quickly.  
  
"What's wrong? Where are you going?" Lily asked, seeing Hermione jump to her feet. A painfully coy smile was the reply.  
  
"I forgot, I needed to get something from Madame Pomfrey. I'll be right back." She managed to exit the tent without any further problems, and promptly tripped over the hem of her robe outside.  
  
Which ever-so-graciously reminded her that it didn't belong to her, she looked ridiculous wearing it, and she wondered momentarily if perhaps she should give it back at some point. or had she ever thanked *him* properly? No. she hadn't. she would have to, at some point, the sooner the better.  
  
"Wait! My-own, erm, Hermione!" Lily scrambled after her, though she really needn't have bothered as Hermione had stopped and turned around anyway. "I'll come with you, Herms, okay? It's better not to be caught in the halls of this school at twilight."  
  
"Herms?" Hermione echoed, falling into step next to her despite herself.  
  
"Do you not like that? I think it's a cute nickname. I won't use it if you don't want me to."  
  
"Oh, no, it's okay. I've just never been nicknamed before, unless you count my boyfriend calling me 'hermy-own'."  
  
"You have a boyfriend?"  
  
They entered the school. How very quiet the halls seemed to be...  
  
"He's not really, I mean, I think we're just, you know, friends, but he'd like to be something more, I'm sure... my heart and eyes are set on another, though."  
  
"Oh, really? That's so romantic!" Lily sighed, though she had dropped her voice slightly. They walked along for a moment in silence. "So, what are their names?"  
  
"Viktor and Harry."  
  
"Cute! Who's who?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean, who likes you and who do you like and so forth."  
  
"Well, I like... I'm not telling you that!"  
  
"Uh, no fair! Okay, have they ever met?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Even had a little chat alone, them."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Except Harry thinks we're only friends."  
  
"So he's the one! That's sooooooooo romantic."  
  
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."  
  
They stopped outside the hospital wing and Hermione pushed the doors open. Pomfrey was already waiting for her, impatience clearly written upon her face.  
  
"Where have you been? Indeed, I was so worried, I thought you may have gotten hurt!" she watched Hermione take the first glass and make a face before downing it. And such with each one. "There, now," she said once all was finished. "Off you trot!"  
  
"What were those? Why did you have to take them? Are you ill? Do you have an incurable disease? are you contagious? Is that why you've been avoiding everybody? Are you okay? Do you feel well? Do you need to sit down?" Lily couldn't stop asking questions. Hermione gritted her teeth and grabbed Lily's elbow, pulling her into an empty classroom that had a door open.  
  
"I'm fine. I'm not contagious, I don't have some sort of incurable disease, I avoid you and the others because I'd rather not associate with people, and you shouldn't ask so many questions." Hermione glanced around, then dropped her voice. "Listen, just forget about that, okay? Don't tell anybody."  
  
Lily drew herself up sharply. She was roughly slightly taller than Hermione, or maybe it just looked that way because of Hermione's dwarfed appearance in the robes.  
  
"I'll keep it a secret, but only if you tell me why I should. I'm not stupid, Herm, the only reason I can think of that you would want to keep this a secret was that you are either embarrassed, or worried about somebody else finding out what all those potions were."  
  
"Happy to know that it's both?" Hermione hisses, her patience being tested. She was tired, hungry, and stressed to the breaking point. she didn't need her crush's mother of all people hounding on her. "I won't tell you."  
  
"I'll find out."  
  
"You just sounded exactly like Black there. Funny how you used his exact same words, too."  
  
Lily sputtered, apparently unable to think up a good response to that.  
  
"Then, why don't you just tell me? won't you at least tell me what the potions are for? In the least?"  
  
"Headaches and migraines, stomach aches and cramps, dreamless sleep, long and short term memory, making choices, and greater thinking, stress, and I think she's probably put something in there to try and stem the pleasure nerves of my brain. Pity the stress blocks it out." Hermione paused, glancing about briefly. She felt like they weren't alone. "Are you happy? Will you leave me alone, and not tell anybody else?"  
  
"Yeah... why do you need to take all of those things?"  
  
"I take them because... because I need them. Would you rather go around all day sleeping, unable to control what you're saying or thinking, throwing up every few seconds?"  
  
"All of that? you /must/ be bluffing or something like that. it really /is/ an incurable disease, isn't it?"  
  
"No, not really. This place is at such a lower elevation than my other school, you would not believe. It's like you people are living underground."  
  
"Oh, is that it? Because your body is still trying to get used to the elevation change?" Lily seemed to relax after that. "I understand. Okay, Herms, that's all I wanted to know. Your secret's safe with me!" she paused also, glancing around the room. She slipped into silence.  
  
"Lily?" Hermione asked quietly. "Lily, what's wrong?"  
  
"We aren't alone."  
  
"You just figured that out? Let's see, there's ghosts floating around every corner, and..."  
  
"No, I mean, somebody else is... hey, what's that?" in a matter of seconds she had crossed the dark classroom and bent over, picking up something. . .  
  
"What's this?" Lily asked, starting to turn it over as Hermione came next to her. Seeing what it was before the redhead, she bit her lip and snatched it out of her hands. "Hey! What did you - what is it?"  
  
"Just a stray piece of parchment," Hermione said quickly, folding it up and sticking it in her (borrowed) robes nervously. She glanced to her left.  
  
"Erm, yeah," Lily said suspiciously.  
  
"Relax, Lils," Hermione said, rolling her eyes in what she hoped was a nonchalant way. "You go ahead, I'll catch up. I've, erm, got girly stuff to do."  
  
"With what?"  
  
"The chalk board."  
  
Lily laughed, tension eased. "Yeah, right, whatever," she snorted. "I guess I'll just leave you and the chalk board alone, now, shall I?"  
  
"Yes, indeed," Hermione sniffed. "Absolutely /no/ privacy, I swear..."  
  
Lily laughed again as she left, and Hermione cocked her head listening to the redhead's footsteps recede. Then she plunged her hand down the robes she was wearing and slapped the marauders map down on the nearest desk. She only had to glance over it once to figure out she wasn't the only one in the room. Sighing heavily, she straightened herself out and marched out of the classroom, leaving the door wide open behind her.  
  
Those jerks. They had no right - NO RIGHT - to be sneaking around at dusk and listening in on other peoples' conversations! It wasn't just the immorality of it, so was the rudeness, and, and, and those little prats!  
  
On her way down the steps outside the hem of the robes she wore once again got in her way, and as though she expected it (because she did by now) she went flying down the rest of the way.  
  
Ignoring the jarring sensation in her elbows, Hermione got to her feet, tied the sleeves back behind her in a loose knot, and grabbed the front of the robes, gathering them up around her knees as she marched back to the tent, where Lily was waiting.  
  
"Did you and the chalk board have fun?" Lily asked when Hermione sat defiantly next to her.  
  
"Oh, we had a grand time," she grumbled. "I tripped over these robes enough times to send me down the stairs."  
  
The others laughed.  
  
It was actually not an all-too-bad night, but then, Hermione zoned out way before any of the other girls did, and she woke up late. Feeling much more refreshed.  
  
.  
  
~  
  
.  
  
The marauders hadn't meant to eaves drop. They had been coming back from the bathroom, where the potion was now being stirred by Remus. And who should come along other than Hermione and Lily, their two favorite girls?  
  
So of course they scampered into the nearest empty classroom... only to be joined by Guess Who.  
  
Sirius actually thought it a very informative trip; he'd found out more than any of his charm could milk out of Hermione.  
  
In which Peter happened to drop the map. James made a move to get it while Sirius cuffed Peter on the ear, and of course Lily noticed.  
  
Here's where things got even stranger. When she saw the map, she kept Lily from seeing it, and managed to get the said redhead out of the room (something about 'having fun with a chalk board' or whatever). After so, she looked at it and clearly, unless she had major eye problems, saw the three of them standing there.  
  
But she just left it, grumbling, tripping slightly over the hem of the robes he had let her wear.  
  
"She knows," James whispered once they were safely in their dorm.  
  
"But how much?" Sirius mused. "Could she know about Remus? That wouldn't surprise me, she opened the portrait hole that one time..."  
  
"If she does know, that's not good news, is it?" Peter insisted. "I mean, she might be psychic! Maybe she can read our minds!"  
  
"Shut up, Worm," James snapped.  
  
"I say we confront her. Here. Now." Sirius said, standing up.  
  
"No. what we should be doing is figuring out how to get her to take the truth crap. She's kept her mouth shut so far, and she can do so for another month." James answered firmly.  
  
"She's just so /curious/ though! Oh, I can't wait a month! Isn't there a way that /we/ can read /her/ mind? Something like that?" Peter asked, looking from one to the other.  
  
"Well, yeah," Sirius said sarcastically. "But the worst we could do is give her an even bigger headache than she's already having. And you never know, she might be skilled at occlumacy, or whatever it's called, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have some walking mystery invading my mind."  
  
"Hear, hear," James added.  
  
"You, you mean, it's possible? We can? Why don't we try?"  
  
"What are you, brain dead?"  
  
"Remus could, though! He's smart! Why don't we ask him?"  
  
"No, we're already doing the truth crap. After all that trouble we went through... besides, you have to be very strong, very powerful to use that spell. Attack somebody's mind."  
  
"Not to mention it's illegal," Sirius put in.  
  
"But," Peter insisted. "Then, why don't we use it as a last resort, at least?"  
  
"If things go well, we won't need a last resort a month from now," James muttered. "Now, if the two of you dunder brains are done, I'm going to bed. Hogsmeade tomorrow, you know."  
  
"Yeah, that's right!" Sirius agreed. 


	16. Filch's Punishment

A/N: oy! I've just thought of something! After the Dream Scene and after I somehow manage to make my pairing... a pairing, I think I'll terrify and mortify you all! And when that comes, you can flame me, tell me "this fic was so good until you blah blah blah" but you know what? I'm just gonna keep on writing it. B'sides, how much of the population dies married? Right, right... now how much of the population dies virgin? Huh, huh, see, I told you. Do some research on it, whydontchya.  
  
*cough* But I stray.  
  
A really, really big thank you to: Funness (yay! New reviewer! Thank you!) coolcat411 (Hagrid? *blinks stupidly* OMG, I totally forgot about him! Yeek! *runs in crazy circles but stops when reviewers all back up*) Nicolina (wowie! Three new reviewers by now! I LOVE YOU, YUR MY BEST FRIEND, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so many reviews..... no, trust me, I've never met anybody who reviews each individual chapter... I feel so... honored... *bursts into tears of joy and stuffs cookie in Nicolina's mouth*) Stinky Stan (yay! SCREW THE FIFTH BOOK! MUHAHAHAHAHA *hack, choke* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cough* erm, thank you for reviewing?) limegreenlion (lol, I didn't mean to insult ya! Well, okay, at the time I was high under the evil clutches of diet coca cola, BUT you, erm, ah, uh, you can't blame me for that! YAAAAAY! I MADE A FAVORITE STORIES LIST!!! MY LIFE IS **COMPLETE**!!!!! *huggles and cookies*) Jae (interesting? Ya think it's interesting?? *YAAY!* omg, the compliments, the compliments.... they're going to my head.... if ya've got any questions, go ahead and ask meh! ^_^ thank you for r&r-ing!) AND TO ANYBODY I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *showers reviewers with cookies and hugs, ignoring their horrified attempts to get away* YOU ARE NOW *MINE* MY REVIEWERS!!! MUA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH *deep breath* HAHAHAH HA HA HAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *traps reviewers in dark room and forces them to read next chapter*  
  
Hey, ppl! I've got a new website! It's dedicated to Snuffles, of course, but I'm trying to figure out how to stuff as much of the marauders and the Girls Of HP in there too. -_-0 anyhoot, if you'd like ta help out with fics and pics..... Yea..... *sweatdrop*  
  
Oy, and if you want me to email you when I update, tell me so that I don't forget. Because........ I have a habit of forgetting. Lol ^_^0 short attention span, ya see? Lol  
  
I believe that there are six reviewers that I missed...... That means, my statistics show 47 but when I keep on clicking on it and refreshing and crap, it never shows the six or seven reviews I need to see! ARGH! SO, if you are one of those mishappen reviewers........ THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *locks mysterious reviewers in with other reviewers, once more cackling madly* I AM A DAFT COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Hermione had to admit, being dragged around nowhere by Lily wasn't all-too- bad. She kept her mind off Harry and getting home, for a while, too, and was awful close to being cheerful.  
  
And it really was no wonder Lily was friends with everybody (w/ the except of the Slytherins and marauders, of course). She could talk and talk and talk a mile a minute without a breath, and all her "friend" would have to do is pretend to be listening and give an affirmative nod each time Lily said "you know?".  
  
Hermione had a light headache by the time they started exploring the outer parts of Hogsmeade, but then she discovered that Lily wasn't always looking at her, so she didn't always have to bob her head up and down.  
  
"Herms? Hermy, you there?"  
  
Hermione jerked out of a light trance sort of when Lily waved a hand in front of her face. "There ya are!" the redhead cried triumphantly. "You know?" -Hermione nodded- "it's a shame Carrie couldn't come, you know?" -Hermione nodded- "Don't you agree?" -Hermione nodded-. "You've been awful silent all day, you know?" -Hermione nodded.- "You know," -Hermione nodded- "it's kind of freaky, you know?" -Hermione nodded- "So, what do you think?"  
  
Hermione blinked. "Think? About what?" the brunette asked, speaking almost for the first time that day.  
  
"About the shrieking shack, silly," Lily sighed, pointing. Hermione resisted the urge to jump - they were standing in front of the gate to the shrieking shack. "Isn't it spooky? All the villagers hear noises and stuff coming from in there. What do you think?"  
  
"Hmm," Hermione said distractedly.  
  
"You know," -Hermione nodded- "I think you must be scared!"  
  
"Scared?" Hermione lifted her light gaze from the shrieking shack to rest it on Lily, tipping her chin up slightly to get a better view of the bright, oval green eyes. Harry's eyes.  
  
"No, Lily, I'm not scared of the shrieking shack."  
  
"Aren't you? Everybody is, silly."  
  
"Nah, they're only scared of the noises coming out of it."  
  
"Oho? You know," -Hermione nodded- "I think it'd be neat to go in there! Don't you?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, Herms, there might be a tormented thing in there that needs our help! You know?"  
  
Hermione nodded, then shook her head. "I'm sure it's tormented," she said darkly, "but I wouldn't try to get in while it's making noises."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I have a brain. Now maybe if I were an animal..."  
  
"Hah! That's clever, Herm! Animals can't really help animals, though."  
  
"Who says?" asked a voice, making both Lily and Hermione jump with a slight scream each. They whirled around, and each had a different reaction.  
  
Lily took a step back, and then her cheeks became tinged with an angry red. Hermione took a few steps back into the fence, going a lovely shade of white, then pink, and she buried her face in her hands.  
  
James, Sirius, and Peter all grinned at them.  
  
"Potter! You prat, go get a life already!" Lily thundered. "We were here first, you know!"  
  
"What?" Sirius looked around. Nobody else was near them. His grin broadened. "There's plenty of room up here, I think."  
  
"Yeah!" Peter squeaked. Hermione lifted her face from her hands and shot him a withering look.  
  
"Now, now, we aren't here to fight," James said serenely. Hermione and Lily glanced at each other. Or, Lily couldn't find Hermione until she turned around, raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and Hermione shrugged in return.  
  
"Then what are you here for? To /start/ a fight?"  
  
"Nah. Well, we won't if you go out with me, Evans."  
  
Lily was about to reply when Hermione interrupted.  
  
"Wait. Were you eavesdropping on us?"  
  
"What?" Sirius asked, sounding wounded. "We haven't been dropping any eaves, have we, Prongs? Wormtail?"  
  
"Nope," James and Peter chorused.  
  
"You have so!" Lily snapped. "Well, you can just go away, because Hermione and I were here first, and we're staying here!"  
  
James, Peter, and Sirius all stared blankly at her for a moment. Then Sirius looked at Hermione.  
  
"Actually," he said, "we came up to speak to Granger."  
  
"About what?" Lily retorted.  
  
"About last night." Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
Lily looked to be about to make a very nasty remark, but Hermione grabbed her arm, silencing her.  
  
"Come /on/ Lily, let's go."  
  
"What? Why?" Lily asked, jerking her arm free. But all the same she stalked haughtily past James while Hermione jogged, tripped, and continued jogging after her. They made their way back to the village, and Hermione mumbled an excuse like, "Want to avoid them" or something like that.  
  
She shook off Lily at a small pub with couples (Lily was watching them with a dreamy look in her eyes when Carrie ran up) and darted back to Hogwarts.  
  
There, Madame Pomfrey berated her for a bit, then fed her her "medications."  
  
Trouble itself didn't come until Hermione was going back outside, headed towards Hogsmeade once more to see if Lily had noticed she was gone yet.  
  
She was going down the stairs (robes bunched up around her knees this time - Hermione learned from past experiences) and had just made it to the bottom when a slightly different version of Peeves found her.  
  
"Why, it's the ickle trade student!" he cackled.  
  
"Shut up, Peeves!" she barked. "Go away and leave me alone!" she dropped her robes, and started to walk down the last flight of steps when, surprise, surprise, the hem of Sirius' robes once more shows its fatality.  
  
She ended up in a pile of robes, arms, and legs at the bottom of the stairs. Peeves, who had followed her all the way down, burst into laughter.  
  
"Aw, did the ickle girlikins trippety down the mean owld stairs?" he taunted as Hermione, flustered, stumbled to her feet and ran a hand through her hair, fixing the bun at the base of her neck. She soooooooooooooooo needed a shower. "Ooh, how terrible it'd be if she did it agwain!"  
  
"Shut up, Peeves!" she repeated angrily, and stomped out towards the doors to the grounds, leaving her robes down and walking on her tiptoes just for spite. It didn't work, of course. 'stupid Sirius, two and a half heads taller than me,' Hermione thought angrily when she pushed herself up again. Peeves looked to be having the time of his life. Hermione didn't bother to get up this time, though. She took a deep breath, nursed her left ankle, then looked up at Peeves defiantly.  
  
He was laughing hard enough that he didn't notice this for a bit, though. When he did, catching Hermione's eyes shining with tears (she must have sprained her ankle - it hurt, dangit!) he burst out laughing again.  
  
"Poor ickle twade student!" he howled from above her.  
  
Hermione grimaced. "That's enough, Peeves! Go away now or I'll show you!"  
  
"Shwow me?" He asked in that mock baby voice he'd been using. "What is the pwoor ickle girlikins gonna shwow me? How to fwall and hurt myself?" he howled with laughter again, and Hermione leaned over, snatching her wand from where it had clattered next to her. "Ah, ah," Peeves said when he saw her attempting to stand, leaning against the wall. "No magic between classes or on weekends, ickle girlikins!"  
  
"I don't care about that!" Hermione snapped, voice strained slightly. Maybe she'd done more than just /sprain/ her ankle, it really hurt. She slid down the wall, feeling almost like she was going into shock. "I'll kill you if I have to!"  
  
This only made Peeves laugh harder. That did it. Hermione snapped, jumped to her feet (adrenaline thankfully dulled the pain in her ankle) and raised her wand, pointing it at the poltergeist. She ran through all the spells she knew briefly, and decided on one a split second later.  
  
"Crucio!" it really didn't do much harm, in fact, it missed Peeves entirely and hit a statue nearby, scratching it. The statue snarled at her, rubbing at the scratch, but otherwise nothing. Peeves was silent.  
  
Satisfied, and temper that had been bubbling over now simmered down, Hermione put the wand back up her sleeve and attempted to stand again. She was halfway up when a rather high-pitched scream sounded, making Hermione jump, twist around, and cry out as she fell to the ground again. Now she /knew/ she had done more than just sprain her ankle. Tears spattered the floor.  
  
"YOU, YOU, YOU," Filch screamed, dancing from foot to foot. But despite his beyond dangerous voice, he looked quite gleeful "You nasty, wretched little brat! OH, I'll have you expelled for sure, and you'll be thrown in Azkaban! Using an unforgivable curse!" he grabbed her arm and began dragging her away. "Fifty floggings, I'd say!" he cried. "No, I hundred! You won't be able to cry let alone sit by the time I'M through with you!"  
  
Mrs. Norris the kitten mewed in what Hermione swore was a malevolent way. She hopped along on one foot, trying to stammer out that she hadn't, but tripped again and fell, letting Filch drag her as he continued to rant.  
  
"Ah, the Headmaster will HAVE to throw you out! I'll watch you get shipped off to Azkaban, I will, ah, here we are!" he threw open a door to a large room Hermione had never seen before. "A hundred, a hundred," Filch chanted happily, tears of joy in his eyes as he slammed the door shut and deposited Hermione over what looked like a disfigured saddle. She started to push herself up, but found her hands had sunk into it, and it was rising so that her toes barely touched the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a whip...... A whip! Horror and dread filled her.  
  
"W- wait! That's against the rules, you, you can't! You wouldn't!" Hermione cried, trying to struggle. It was quite impossible, though. He went back behind her, ignoring her sobbed pleas. "No, stop it! Dumbledore will throw you out, too! It's against the laws, I won't be the only one heading for Azkaban!"  
  
"This is how we punish students where detention doesn't work!" Filch explained gleefully. "You wouldn't know that as a trade student of course - now hold still!"  
  
"No!" Hermione screamed, kicking and thrashing as wildly as she could. "NO! You can't whip me, I'm, I'm a trade student, you can't /punish/ me, I didn't know that charm was illegal, honest!"  
  
"Ah-ha, nice try," Filch said. "If you don't hold still I'll ruin your robes as well!"  
  
"DON'T!" Hermione wailed. "HELP ME, SOMEBODY, PLEASE!"  
  
"Afterwards I'll have to notify the headmaster," Filch almost sobbed gleefully. "You'll be sent to Azkaban, you, you silly little prat!"  
  
"NO!!" Hermione howled. Whipping students if they continued to get in trouble after detention? And Dumbledore allowed this??? 


	17. Discussions

A/N: actually, I do believe that Filch had permission to whip those that did horrible, horrible things...... Students that had done something so bad, but just barely not bad enough to get expelled. I do believe that's possible, and of course, Filch would take advantage of that.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
~  
  
"I can't believe it, though!" Peter complained. "She gave you detention on a /weekend/ Padfoot!"  
  
"Totally unfair." James confirmed. Sirius shrugged as they entered the school.  
  
"Yeah, well, I hate to admit I've seen enough of Filch and his whip to know that I'm accepting detention when I get it." He sighed. The halls were empty because kids were either still at Hogsmeade or outside.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. But she was just walking out there, and you smiled at her, and she gave you detention! I mean, that's low for even the potions master!"  
  
A few minutes later, safely hidden in a bathroom where Remus was, the werewolf nodded his consent.  
  
"Yeah, it's unfair. But at least Filch taught you a lesson."  
  
"Plenty of them," Sirius muttered.  
  
They left about ten minutes later, going up to the common room.  
  
A bit later, Sirius left to go down to the kitchens, to grab something sweet off the house elves.  
  
It was there that he saw her.  
  
Hermione was leaning heavily against a wall, dragging herself slowly along. The back of her robes stuck to her back, and Sirius felt his heart stop momentarily. She was hurt; badly it looked like, judging by her ragged breathing. He fell into step with her quickly.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, and she stopped, and looked at him. She'd been crying. Hard. "I'll take that as a no. What happened?"  
  
"Used an unforgivable curse on Peeves and Filch caught me. He's off to try and get me thrown in Azkaban, now." Hermione muttered, more tears brimming her eyes.  
  
"Ah. You got the whip, didn't you?"  
  
She nodded, biting her lip.  
  
"Well, come on, I'm guessing that you've never gotten that before, huh?"  
  
"Where I come from, that's illegal, it's called child abuse. Have /you/ ever gotten it?"  
  
"Has Filch ever flogged me? Oh, yes. I've learned my lesson, too."  
  
He watched her try to take a few steps, then moved forward and gingerly lifted her up like a child.  
  
"Hey!" she hissed.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Sirius mumbled, careful to touch only her sides.  
  
In this manner, they made their way slowly to the hospital wing.  
  
Madame Pomfrey was absent.  
  
"Here. Can you sit down, or was it more than just your back?"  
  
She nodded again, tears spilling. He managed to get her on her stomach on an empty bed, then jogged off in search of Pomfrey. He found her in her office.  
  
"Oy, ma dame," he said. "Hermione's hurt. She needs some salves and stuff."  
  
"What?" Pomfrey was on her feet in an instant. "What did you do to her?"  
  
"I didn't do anything." Sirius said briskly, following the young woman put to where Hermione was.  
  
"Oh, goodness, what happened? Hermione, dear, what happened?" she cried, after one look at the brunette.  
  
"She got the whip," Sirius explained. "for using an unforgivable curse on Peeves."  
  
"WHAT?!?" Pomfrey thundered, and forced herself to take a few deep breathes.  
  
"It's true," Hermione said softly, more tears falling. "I didn't hurt him, I just scratched a nearby statue....."  
  
"Calm down, now," Pomfrey grumbled. She looked at Sirius. "Shoo! We don't need you in here!"  
  
Sirius stuffed his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Fine. Oh, and there's something wrong with her leg, too." He stalked out. But instead of going anywhere, he waited outside the door, listening.  
  
~  
  
Hermione was in a state similar to shock. She knew Filch wasn't exactly the best teacher around, but never, ever in her life.... How could Dumbledore even allow...? She winced as Pomfrey mended her ankle (yeah, it was broken) and began on her back, behind, and upper thighs, muttering to herself.  
  
"We'll have to tell the headmaster about this," she grumbled. "Magical whip. These won't heal very quickly, dear, there's not much I can do other than try to numb the pain a bit."  
  
"He can't do that," Hermione said, small voice breaking as more tears began to flow. "And it's called 'Child Abuse' in the normal world, everybody knows that... I was just so stressed out... I didn't hurt Peeves, and I probably wouldn't have, I missed him, and the worst I did was scratch a statue.... I'm too stressed out... I'm never going to get home, and I can't life with the aftermath effects, and I'm going to get killed in a few years anyway. And even if I /do/ manage to survive all of that, the time I die will only be a little while after that. I hate this place, I can't take it anymore. I want to go home!"  
  
"There, there, now," Pomfrey comforted.  
  
"Is what Mr. Filch tells me true?" Dumbledore's voice said, making them all jump. Behind him was none other than Sirius Black. "Did you use an unforgivable curse, miss Granger?"  
  
Hermione promptly broke down into harder tears and shouted out the whole story between her arms, the pillow, the drugs she had been given to still the pain, and her sobs.  
  
~  
  
A little bit after she had finished, Dumbledore requested that Sirius go and find his friends, please. Grudgingly, Sirius caught the hint and left. However, he waited outside the door again, listening.  
  
"I want to go home!" Hermione was repeating to Dumbledore. "I hate it here, I want to go home now! This does it, even if I have to /climb/ up those steps, I want to go home!"  
  
"I understand that you're stressed out and hurt, miss Granger," Dumbledore said sharply. "Once we get this matter over with, I'll let you in on what I've been doing about your predicament. Now, you understand that the three unforgivable curses - all three of them - are illegal, right?"  
  
"Y- yes, sir."  
  
"And you used one?"  
  
"The Cruciatus Curse, sir."  
  
"This is a very important matter, miss Granger. You could very well be imprisoned for it."  
  
"I am aware of that, sir."  
  
"Then why did you do it?"  
  
"I wasn't thinking, sir. I was stressed out, and I was just... angry... I'm very sorry, sir." Hermione took a deep, shaking breath. "Please, sir, don't put me in Azkaban, sir, I didn't mean to... I knew and know I wouldn't have been able to hurt him, sir..."  
  
Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh. There was a moment of silence before he called, "Are you quite finished, Mr. Black?"  
  
Sirius swore (not bothering to lower his voice) and stomped off as Pomfrey scurried over, scowled at his retreating back, and slammed the door shut.  
  
~  
  
"Now, that we've gotten that taken care of," Dumbledore said, taking a seat next to Hermione. "I've been leaving little notes. Time capsules, is what I believe Muggles call them. In my office. Such as, 'don't open until this specific date and time.' So either way, the me from your timeline knows you're missing, and I'm certain I'm doing everything I can. Otherwise, there isn't much we can do... though; perhaps you should drop a subject or two. And tell somebody the truth. I understand that you're far enough back, that, when you get back to your own timeline, everybody here including myself will forget about you."  
  
"I'd rather not tell anybody. Rumor travels fast, you know." Hermione grimaced as she adjusted herself, then sighed heavily. "I don't want people asking what it's like in the future, if I know their kids, who are they going to marry, and that stuff."  
  
"Oh, I quite understand. It all depends on who you tell, and where you tell them." Dumbledore smiled warmly at her. "Surely, your best friend's parents, or..."  
  
Hermione snorted.  
  
"Yes?" he asked pleasantly while Pomfrey sat on Hermione's other side.  
  
"I've already associated with my crush's parents, who seem to hate each other, his godfather, my defense against dark arts teacher, and plenty of students' family members. It's just, my friend... he doesn't know, I mean, he's never really met his parents before, and here I am, and I couldn't bear to befriend..."  
  
"Ah, I see. I quite understand. But there are plenty of other trustworthy students here, and you need a friend, miss Granger. I don't believe Madame Pomfrey and I are very good excuses, hmm?"  
  
Hermione offered a small smile. "No, not really."  
  
"Right," he said, standing up and beaming. "Which four classes would you like to be dropping?"  
  
"I'm only taking /four/ other classes," Hermione pointed out.  
  
"Ah, yes. I'll alert your teachers, then. Good evening." He stood up and turned to leave, but Hermione pushed herself up then fell back on her stomach with a small gasp.  
  
"Wait, professor!" she called. He stopped, turned around, and raised an eyebrow. "First, can you tell me how long I've been here?"  
  
"A month and a half," he replied.  
  
"And you are going to ban Filch from whipping, aren't you?"  
  
He only gave her another smile, winked, and then left. Hermione fell back into her pillow, sighing.  
  
"You'll be spending the rest of the weekend here, then," Pomfrey said briskly. "Even so, sitting may be a bit painful for a week or two..."  
  
"I understand," Hermione muttered. "Thank you."  
  
"Mmm," Pomfrey muttered. 


	18. Sirius' Favor

A/N: okay. *glances down at papers on desk* the ppl I forgot before are Lucy (yay! Thank you! *waves hands in the air*) The Sweetest Things (wee! Just like Nicolina! Well, sorta... thankies! :D) and heather (oy, that's good. I can't figure out what's up with my account.... it's all screwed up... *sweatdrop* thank ya very, very much for bein' so patient and stuff. ^_^() yeah, I'm pathetic). Peeps that made it for chappie seventeen... clare (yup, Filch is a butthead!) limegreenlion (lol, I wouldn't recommend using your fists on Filch... maybe a nice beaters' club, or even pelting him with stink pellets, but unless you want to wrap your knuckles sharply on that Fat Head of his... erm, yea *cough, shifty eyes* um, yeah... thank you for reviewing?) Jae (then we're all agreed! Filch is a stupid butthead! No worries, btw! I've got 'romance' in my genre, eh? Though it's funny you mention that, b/c the hard action I originally had planned [i.e., the Dream Sequence plot bunny I have hopping around may have to raise my rating] however, this story is FAR from finished [almost halfway done! Wee!] and im still debating whether I want to risk losing reviewers by [mortifying] you all....... erm, ah, in other words: plenty of kissing coming up! ^_^) The Sweetest Things (YEAH!!! Heehee) anyhooties, thank you guys!!!! TO ANYBODY I MISSED, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
And spend the weekend there she did.  
  
Around late evening, Lily came in with Carrie and Carrie's brother, whom Hermione recognized as Susan Bones's father: they looked pretty much the same.  
  
"Oy, Herms, what have you been doing here? I've been really worried, you know?"  
  
Hermione forgot to nod.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine Lily."  
  
"I hear you tried to use an unforgivable curse on Filch and managed to possess him to populate the kitchen with kittens until he snapped out of it and whipped you to shreds," Father-Of-Susan-Bones said.  
  
Hermione snorted.  
  
"No. I tried to cast on Peeves, Filch caught me, and I got the whip. Who fed you all of that cock and bull?"  
  
"Oh, it's all over the school," Mr. Bones-the-boy explained. "Peeves, started it, I believe, but since you're the mysterious trade student, everybody accepted the rumor easily enough." Lily elbowed him and Carrie giggled.  
  
"How many lashes did ya get?" Carrie asked eagerly, leaning forward.  
  
"I don't know. I think he said a hundred, with a magical whip or something. I'm not going to be able to sit for a week." Hermione was quite unnerved by the look that Carrie was giving her. She definitely did /not/ like this girl.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Pomfrey demanded, appearing out of nowhere. "She needs rest and relaxation! Out!"  
  
"She's resting on everything, you know? And, you know, we're helping her relax," Lily explained self-sufficiently.  
  
That didn't Madame Pomfrey from kicking them out anyway and making Hermione take her potions.  
  
A while into the night, Hermione was beginning to wonder if she might be able to get up and grab a sleeping draught. Or some sort of sleeping drug.  
  
Groaning softly, she magically got to her feet and after a few ginger moments of testing her ankle, she managed to walk (somewhat awkwardly) across the room, messing around with things here and there until she came across a cabinet of different vials and bottles.  
  
She squinted, unable to see the labels in the dark, and wished she'd brought along her wand for a source of light.  
  
Suddenly, there was the sound of quiet footsteps, making Hermione jump, and stiffen, turning around. She watched the door open and close without anybody there to do so, and heard the footsteps proceed a small ways, then stop. There was a while of silence.  
  
"Erm," she called softly. "Erm, hello?"  
  
She glanced around, then shook her head, frowning. Slowly, she looked around the large room, squinting through the dark.  
  
She closed her eyes briefly, messed with the vials and bottles, the only sounds the soft clinking of glass. A moment later, she decided on a small vial, and held it up to a window to see if she could perchance read the label.  
  
There was a murmured spell, and a light made her see spots momentarily. But blinking, she managed to make out that the vial was so /not/ a sleeping draught. She put it back and turned around. Sirius grinned at her, waving his wand.  
  
"Need a light?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" Hermione paused briefly. "Thank you." Another pause. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Make up your mind," he said. "I came here to see how you were. I take it you can't sleep?"  
  
Hermione shook her head blankly. "No, not really. I was looking for a sleeping draught."  
  
"That's what I thought. I knew you were!"  
  
"How terribly clever of you."  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
She sighed, almost resonatedly, and looked up at him. "So, that's it? You only came to see how I'm doing? Well, I'm sore and currently suffering from insomnia, but otherwise I'm fine."  
  
He blinked slowly. "That's what I thought."  
  
"You're clever the first time and annoying the second."  
  
"And what am I the third?"  
  
"Nothing. Well, if you can call a pile of ashes something."  
  
He snorted at her. "Have we got a temper?"  
  
"Why am I thinking 'Peeves' right about now?"  
  
"I dunno, why /are/ you?"  
  
She would have hit or kicked him, but soreness in /certain/ places kept her arms at her sides and feet firmly on the ground.  
  
"That's not the only reason you came," she said softly. "Want to try and figure out who, what, when, where, and why I am yet again?"  
  
"Well, yeah, actually. I'm willing to put that off for another month, though, if you give me a hint!" he smirked. She glowered.  
  
"Right. Fine. Well, I think I'd rather keep myself a secret, you know..."  
  
"What? Evans knows! Why can't I?"  
  
"Evans? Oh, you mean Lily? No, she doesn't know anything, not about me."  
  
Sirius sighed in a heavy manner, and took Hermione's right wrist loosely.  
  
"I'd like to solve this now, if at all possible."  
  
"You mean, you'd like to leave me alone, too?" she asked hopefully. He quirked an eyebrow at her, shaking his head lightly to the side.  
  
"Come off it. Here, lay down. Now, there are some things that are definitely curious about you. From the moment you flew down the stairs and tried to strangle me right out of the blue until now I knew you were different." He grabbed a chair and sat next to her.  
  
"Is this conversation going anywhere?" Hermione asked vaguely.  
  
"Calm down. Fine, if I can't know about you, then I want to know what you know."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"First of all, one night you opened the portrait hole right out of the blue. Why?"  
  
"I somehow manage to open the portrait hole 'right out of the blue' about three hundred times a day."  
  
"More like three times a week," he corrected. And this was past eleven. Everybody was asleep."  
  
"Including you?" she asked.  
  
"Then you don't deny it."  
  
"Do you stalk me?"  
  
"What? Stalk you? Me? Nah, too much work."  
  
"Right." She gave a heavy sigh as Sirius uncorked a bottle from where he had taken it out of the cabinet.  
  
"This," he said, swishing the contents of the bottle around, "is what you were looking for, right?"  
  
"She watched him for a moment, then let her eyes follow the contents in the bottle. He grinned at her. "Tell me something about yourself, anything, and I'll give it to you."  
  
"That's dirty, rotten, and cheap!" Hermione informed him, letting her gaze drift back to his eyes, which were dark and shining in the dim light his wand cast.  
  
"Dirty, rotten, and cheap?" he imitated, and laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess it is. C'mon! Just one thing and I'll leave you alone for a whole month!"  
  
"I have brown hair," she said bluntly, choosing her words carefully.  
  
"Something that I don't already know," he corrected, leaning back so that only two of the chair legs were on the floor.  
  
"I'm Muggle-born."  
  
"Already knew that."  
  
"In my third year I had to use a time-turner to get to all of my classes."  
  
"The same year you had a werewolf teaching your defense class?"  
  
"Yeah, actually. Ron (he's one of my friends) told me once that we'd make a lovely couple, always looking so tired all of the time and being so mysterious. And you can't say you already knew that, so give me the bottle!"  
  
"Fair enough." Sirius stopped swishing the draught around and gave it to Hermione, who sat up rather awkwardly and downed half of it. Sirius took it back after she had swallowed and corked it again.  
  
"I'll put this back, shall I?" he asked, a small smile forming around his lips. Hermione tensed.  
  
"That /was/ a sleeping draught, wasn't it?" she asked softly.  
  
"Oh, yes. I'm certain it was."  
  
"Did you put anything in it?"  
  
"Me? Now what makes you think that?" he slipped the half empty bottle in his robes and pulled out the all-too-familiar invisibility cloak.  
  
Hermione was beginning get groggy. "You /did/ didn't you?"  
  
"It was only a little something that'll give you dreams." He sniffed. "It won't hurt you. I'm doing this as a favor."  
  
"Dreams? What dreams?"  
  
"If I have my facts correct, then you ought to dream about the one you care about most. Remus gave me the potion."  
  
Hermione gazed up at him dazedly. "If ssssomthin' wen' wron' then I'm jus' guunna have nigh' maressss," she slurred.  
  
"It'll still start out good, and anyway, the point is to make you wake up feeling better then before." He threw the cloak around himself. "You won't remember the dream, not unless you find the correct spell and force yourself to remember it. Anyhow, good night. Sweet dreams."  
  
"Sssssiii," she called, or tried to, but she was only fading off into blackness. It was a sweet thing of him to do, really, but still....  
  
... Either way, Hermione couldn't see anything much about it to frown on. Just as long as she was falling asleep........ 


	19. Avoidance and Dreams

A/N: *nervous look at reviewers who are all plotting darkly in their cage* erm, no criticism! Kinda sorta getting' into the romantic stuff.... yeah. I changed the dream scene (I'd decided that I'd have to raise the rating and I'm not so sure I want to do that) so it isn't all it's cracked up to be. I mean, I originally cut it out, but if ya really wanna see it.... well, I dunno if I'll tell what was in it. Hermione won't remember it anyway. -_-0 ah, but who cares? YOU'RE all trapped in a cage! *throws cookie at reviewers and hits one on he head* so HAH!  
  
hp addict (wee! Welcome to my fic! *flings hp addict into cage where other reviewers are scowling* thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!! :D :D :D) No Name Face (YAY! Yet ANOTHER reviewer to throw into my Cage of Wonders! :D thank you thank you thank you! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! *shrilly scream*) Killer Angel (aw, garsh. ^_^ thankies!) Nicolina (heehee isn't he? EVERYBODY loves Snuffles! But **I** got the penname first, so THERE, hahahahah! Here's another *cookie* you're being a very good reviewer! :D) kaylakmk (yay! You're back! I write more, see? See? YAY!) Li-chan (yup, the others will be using the truth potion! I didn't just spend all of the time typing just to have them give up. Lol! Thankies!) TheLillyPotter (yay! A fellow SB/HG fan! Wee! Yup, WE'RE rabid! Heheheh) The Sweetest Things (another person wants to see the dream? Oy. I'd hate to not live up to your expectations!) Uozumi (ah! You're reading MY fic?!? I'm honored! Wow! :D) funki-mage (YES! I HAVE THE HONOR OF BEING THE FIRST FIC YOU'VE READ BEING HP!!! Everybody loves Sirius. Who doesn't? if you find somebody who dislikes Sirius, tell them they'd better be infatuated with him or they'll have to answer to my magical flaming frying pan! :D thank you!) *throws new reviewers in cage with other reviewers*  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
~  
  
Hermione was very good at avoiding people when she thought her life depended on it. Or so Sirius discovered two and a half weeks later. He figured she was embarrassed that he'd gotten her to drink something without knowing what it was.  
  
So here he was, on a three-day weekend, sitting on his bed and shaking a tiny vial nonstop and bored beyond all belief.  
  
~  
  
He'd done the sleeping/dreaming potion wrong.  
  
How did Hermione know this, two and a half weeks later?  
  
Because she still had nightmares of the exact same dream. A little too much of something... whatever he had done to it, there'd been too much of one ingredient in the potion, and it drowned out the memory part that was supposed to keep her from remembering. And kept the dream repeating, and repeating, and repeating until it had finally run its course.  
  
And one would think by now that she was used to it.  
  
But, oh, you can NOT get used to a potion like that gone wrong. And dreamless sleep potions didn't work either, because there was an anti-drug in it. Oh, yes. Life sucked at night.  
  
Not that the dream was a really /bad/ one, it was just... disturbing.  
  
And it kept her awake. And it kept her tired. And Hermione found herself laden down with a bit too much homework, as she spent her time bribing people for the location of where the marauders would be, and thus avoiding them. She'd long given up going to the great hall.  
  
What were house elves for?  
  
So she was tired and ridden with homework, which she didn't really have the time to get done because Lily had a way of squeezing things out of people, and it wouldn't take too long for the redhead to piece things together and jump to conclusions.  
  
Not that, of course, the particular conclusions were bad. They were actually cute; in fact, though Hermione was a bit loathe admitting it. And anyway, in her dream she was happy enough. All in all, the dream was very quiet (literally) and relaxed, and she certainly didn't wake up screaming and sweating in terror. Just relaxed and silent. That was what the potion was for, of course; to give her a relaxing night's sleep.  
  
Except, she was thoroughly confused about it as well. But who wouldn't be? Maybe if Harry didn't look so much like his father...  
  
She could never be sure. Maybe it was Harry and Lily? But that was just wrong. Ron, maybe? Nah, neither of them was prone to be slashed in such a way. In which case, it was maybe not Harry, but James, and Lily. Lily was the only other redhead Hermione could think of.  
  
It was still confusing.  
  
And then, of course, there was the chance that she might be prophesizing something. Hah. Funny thought, that. the first part in the background was just... disturbing, whereas her own point of view in the dream she was safe in the arms of her dream guy (apparently... and he was tall, taller than her, with messed up black hair and glasses) and he was holding her, whispering something soothing, brushing a lock of her hair off of her face.  
  
Red hair.  
  
That was why Hermione was certain it wasn't her in the arms of Harry. Which was extremely disappointing, and Hermione comforted herself by mentally chanting "he did it wrong, he did it wrong, he did it wrong..." over and over again.  
  
And then there was always the fact that it probably wasn't Harry, but James, as she couldn't get a look at his face, and in the dream, didn't want to bother with it.  
  
Extremely confusing. Our Heroine rubbed a temple, trying to focus on her assignment. She was in a broom closet. Not exactly fashionable, but none of the marauders or Lily would think to look here. And Sirius had left her alone. Or maybe it was because she was so paranoid of him figuring out what it was she dreamt.  
  
Paranoid of anybody finding out, actually.  
  
Hermione spent another few hours getting her work done, yawned, and stumbled out of the closet. After a trip to the kitchens and the infirmary, she made her way to the dark and empty common room, glancing out the window when she settled herself on a chair.  
  
Almost full moon.  
  
She tried to keep herself awake by reading, but that never worked.  
  
***  
  
It was a bright shiny day, or so the sunlight streaming through a window said. The common room was empty, which itself was strange seeing as it must have been a little after lunchtime, or somewhere around there.  
  
Hermione inhaled slowly, looking around the serene room appreciatively as she stepped out of the shadows of a staircase. There was no sound other than something that must have been the wind, and a few birds; as though she were outside in a small forest. So silently, she drifted across the room, sitting on the edge of a small couch, closing her eyes momentarily.  
  
And there was a pair of hands on her shoulders, pushing her firmly back into the cushions, and she had enough sense to open her eyes, looking directly into the dark ones of Sirius, and she closed them again.  
  
An abrupt lurch in her stomach and an intense feeling of vertigo, her eyes snapped open again, and she realized she was standing upright. In somebody's arms.  
  
She glanced up a little bit, catching the sight of all-over-the-place black hair, and a voice murmured something in her ear, holding her to him comfortingly. Over his shoulder she could see herself (or; Hermione Granger) with Sirius, making out.  
  
She blinked, melting into the arms of whomever it was that held her, an he pushed her away slightly, pushing a few strands of red hair off her cheeks and smiling warmly.  
  
***  
  
Hermione sat up quickly, glancing around. Bringing a hand across her forehead she slowly breathed out and rolled into a sitting position.  
  
No more sleep tonight.  
  
~  
  
"But it's not /fair/!" James repeated for the hundredth time (two days after the last POV). "Why can't Wormtail do it?"  
  
"He'll mess it up," Sirius replied bluntly. "Anyway, we've only got a few minutes to get out and play around with Remus. So have fun!" he closed their dorm room door in James' face, leaving the said boy to stand there fuming, glaring at the tiny vial in his hand, which was starting to freeze over. He shook it. It warmed up. Angrily, James shook it nonstop, going over to his bed.  
  
Couldn't get any better than this. And this was all for his best friend, and a girl, when neither of them were interested in each other /that way/.  
  
Fun, fun. Oh, the joys of living.  
  
~  
  
Hermione was nodding off, staring hard at the book she was trying to read. A book about hypothetical situations in time-travel.  
  
"All right, Granger?" asked an all-too-familiar voice, and Hermione jumped, whirling around.  
  
She felt her face go a lovely shade of red.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked. Sirius shrugged.  
  
"I dunno. C'mon, Worm, let's go to bed." He grabbed Peter's arm and dragged him back up the steps.  
  
~  
  
"What, back already?" James asked sarcastically.  
  
"No, we just forgot your invisibility cloak. Hermione is down there, ya know."  
  
~  
  
Hermione was nodding off again, so she didn't hear the footsteps, or take note of the portrait hole, which had just opened and closed on it's own whim.  
  
She ended up zoning out, and the same dream ensured.  
  
Waking up, Hermione swore. Who was the redhead? Was it Harry or James? Why was she in the point of view of some redhead when *she* herself should so obviously be enjoying a snogging session with you-know-who. Not Voldemort. Sirius. It was /disturbing/ especially when he obviously wasn't interested in her in that sort of aspect. He'd only listened in at the wrong points and was now determined to win.  
  
This wasn't just because of his curiosity. This was going on and on because of his pride. He couldn't /force/ her to tell him, but her knew that there /was/ something /to/ tell.  
  
Grumbling, Hermione got up and went down to the kitchens, as a few early- risers were populating the great hall. 


	20. Final Plans and Ideas

A/N: I think she's still sore from her beating... lol. The potion is almost done! W00t! Go marauders!!!! *^.^* heehee... now I'm still trying to figure out how they're going to get Our Heroine to drink it... probably end up forcing it down her throat... five virtual cookies says that I'll probably end up doing that! :D pathetic. Yup. mm-kay, now, where were we? Oh yes. (P.S. I originally had the dream cut, out, then I deleted the document I had uploaded, added a few words here and there, added the dream, and I hope you're happy. *scowls*) and there are SO MANY reviewers, and it's night time, and I'm feeling guilty about not updating for so long, so I can't respond individually at the moment... gomen nasai.  
  
I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEEAAAASSE FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! And I'm really really really sorry this chapter is so short, too. But, hey! In this chap, an Idea occurs to Hermione, and the marauders successfully finish their potion!  
  
THANK YOU ALL so so so so so so so so so SO so SO much for reading and reviewing! Visit the following link, will ya? Heehee!  
  
H t t p : / / b l u r r e d I m a g e . p r o b o a r d s 2 0 . c o m / I n d e x . c g I  
  
AND I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT THE FORMATTING INCIDENT!!! GOMEN NASAI GOMEN NASAI GOMEN NASAI!!!!!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
It was, miraculously, a whole nother week before Hermione broke down and went to Pomfrey for help. She'd rather /not/ think about doing you-know- what with you-know-who.  
  
"See, this boy tricked me into taking a potion... he was really sweet about it, you know? Except he did it wrong, so now I'm having the same dream over and over again and I'm losing sleep and..." and so forth. It didn't take long for Madame Pomfrey to get the point.  
  
"Once more, I'm afraid there's not much I can do," she sighed. "How are you doing with your whiplashes?"  
  
"Still a little sore, but I can sit," Hermione answered, smiling a bit.  
  
"Good." Pomfrey trilled. "Once they're all healed over I'll see if I can try to rid you of the scars."  
  
"Okay. Can't you at least somehow keep me from remembering the dreams, at least? They're a bit disturbing."  
  
"Ah," Pomfrey sighed again, cast a dark look at the door, then led Hermione into her office. "Here, take this. I reckon it won't do much, but once you have the dream, it'll get your subconscious to try and wake you up."  
  
"So," Hermione started hesitantly. "So, I'll only be in the dream for a little bit of the beginning of it?"  
  
"Maybe," Pomfrey paused, reflecting. "You may only see certain flashes of the dream. Just bits and pieces, so you'll feel better I'm hoping?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Thank you." Hermione said, smiling. She took her other potions, and trusted herself to sleep that night.  
  
And she did. Not that she hadn't slept before, she just got more sleep this time; the downfall was that the bits and pieces of the dream she was having were the parts she was wanting to avoid most.  
  
What wonderful luck.  
  
But still, Hermione was grateful, and caught up in a few things. Within a few more weeks, she'd gotten back to her usual schedule and was once more pondering over ways to get back.  
  
She was doing just that in the library when it closed and she was kicked out.  
  
Sighing, Hermione began the trek to the common room. Lily was waiting for her.  
  
Looking quite tired, but all the same, waiting for her.  
  
"That does it, Granger," Lily almost snarled, shoving Hermione into a chair. "I want answers /now/. Why have you been avoiding Carrie and me?"  
  
"Carrie hates me," Hermione said bluntly. "I thought you did too."  
  
What a pathetic lie. Lily accepted it, though.  
  
"Oh. Well, Carrie and I don't hate you. Carrie's just a bit moody, you know, with her brother and all, and I've been there for her. You should have, too, being her friend."  
  
Hermione resisted the urge to point out that she wasn't either of their friends.  
  
"Well, anyway, guess we ought to go to bed now. I'm tired. You know? I've never lost my temper like that with a girlfriend, you know?" Lily ran a hand through her hair, and Hermione wondered if it had been Lily and James in her dream.  
  
"So... G'night," Hermione said after a long moment.  
  
"After you," Lily offered. Hermione sighed.  
  
"I, erm, have to go to the bathroom first."  
  
"You can use the one up in my dorm if you like," Lily offered.  
  
"No, that's okay," Hermione said. "You go, I'll be up in a sec..."  
  
Lily shrugged, then went up the stairs.  
  
Sighing, Hermione settled herself down for the night...  
  
.  
  
And yet another marauder-free week passed, except this one had two visits from Lily. The first was Lily asking if Hermione knew any good hexes that were embarrassing, and the second was another confrontation in the common room at night.  
  
"I can't believe this. And you never told anybody? You know, Hermy, if you'd have just /said/ something, you know...?"  
  
"I'm fine, Lily, please go to bed now," Hermione begged.  
  
Lily placed her hands on her hips. "Oh come off it," she said defiantly, "I didn't know that trade students didn't get their own rooms... c'mon, you can sleep in my dorm..."  
  
"I've been making due for the past - how long has it been? Lily, I'm fine."  
  
"No! you know, Granger!"  
  
"Won't your dorm mates despise my presence?"  
  
"Of course not! You can share my bed with me. Come on!"  
  
"If I come will you leave me alone?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and took Hermione's hand, leading her up the staircase.  
  
"C'mon, Herms. It's bedtime, and we've got classes tomorrow."  
  
.  
  
Two months. Hermione had been over twenty years in the past for /two months/. Surely, by now, Harry and them would have found a way to bring her back?  
  
What was Harry thinking? Did he miss her? Worry about her?  
  
Or did he even care? Or was he with some red head girl?  
  
This weekend is going to be an empty one... there was some sort of festival thing going on in Hogsmeade, and students were all allowed to go. That meant Monday was off, and of course, the weekend was as usual empty right after breakfast, currently.  
  
Hermione planned on spending this time in the library, finding any way possible to contact Harry.  
  
"I'll meet up with you later," she promised Lily and (a very annoyed) Carrie. When everything was quiet, she was off to the library, and back in the empty common room with an armful of books. Settling herself so that the sunlight streaming in through the window dappled the book pages, Hermione attempted to find a way, any way, to contact Harry...  
  
About an hour later, she returned to the library, frustrated.  
  
And it was then, right /then/ that The Idea occurred to her. Dumbledore would be trying to find ways to send her back safely, without risk... but hadn't coming back in time been a risk in life itself?  
  
If there was a risk that her life might come to a tragic stop while going forward in time, would he tell her. Or try to find a safer way? If so, /was/ there a safer way?  
  
Hermione's eyes locked distantly on the restricted section.  
  
Something painful, illegal, life-threatening like that wouldn't be in regular textbooks...  
  
~  
  
The marauders (all four of them, slightly tired from the night before) settled themselves behind the mirror in the bathroom.  
  
James, Peter, and Remus were ecstatic that the potion was finished and that they wouldn't have to slave over nothing for a month.  
  
Sirius couldn't wait to put it to use.  
  
"But /how/ is the question," Remus sighed, examining the small vial in his hand. "We can't /force/ it on her, she'd murder the whole lot of us afterwards..."  
  
"Sure we can force it on her!" James said impatiently. "Look, the common room is empty. We drag her in there, force her to swallow it, make her answer whatever questions Padfoot has, then go to Hogsmeade. It's that simple."  
  
"No," Sirius with a slight frown. "I want her to know what we've done,"  
  
"She'll know very well once it wears off," Peter pointed out. "I think. How long does this last, Remus?"  
  
"I'd say half an hour at the most, maybe only twenty minutes. What you want to ask won't take nearly as long as twenty minutes, will it, Sirius."  
  
"I dunno," Sirius shrugged. "C'mon, I want to know where this girl's from!"  
  
"Then let's find out and go," James sighed exasperatedly. "I'll bet you /anything/ that she's in the library. Remus and Peter lure her into the common room, James holds her down, Sirius gives her the potion, asks his questions, and then the four of us split."  
  
"No, it's not that easy," Remus cried. "There's still a chance we may have done something wrong, we should stay with her in case she's been poisoned!"  
  
"Come off it!" Sirius jumped to his feet. "We've been waiting for little over a week now, we won't get a better chance than this. Let's go! Now! James' plan!" with that said, he had the vial of clear liquid clasped tightly in his right hand and was halfway to the common room before the other three managed to catch up and stop him.  
  
"That plan is too reckless," Remus snapped, drawing Sirius attention to the sub subject at hand. "Here, I have an idea; we'll put the potion in some pumpkin juice or whatever, and give that to her. Not in the common room, it'd be too risky in case some one overheard, and I don't want to get expelled for the illegal use of Ver-"  
  
"Okay, okay, I get your point," Sirius sighed. "So, where are we going to do this?"  
  
"Outside," James said at once. "On the grounds. Under that one tree. Or in it, if we can manage; it'll be hard to eavesdrop and stuff, and it'll just work."  
  
"How are we going to get her to drink it, though?" Peter asked.  
  
"I vote we abandon the pumpkin juice thing and force it on her." James said.  
  
"Yeah, Granger will thank us. She knows her life will be so much more easier if the marauders were her friends." Sirius put in.  
  
Remus threw his arms in the air. "Okay! Settled! Sirius, you get her outside. Peter and James'll hold her down, and I'll get her to drink it, as I'm the only one out of you three that can do just that without choking her to death."  
  
"Done." Sirius handed the vial over to Remus. "You three get going, and I'll be down there in just a sec with Hermione."  
  
"Alright." James rolled his eyes. "Glad we're finally getting this over with. It's very unlike Sirius Black to obsess over a girl for two months and not date her."  
  
"I hear that," Sirius said, smacking his friend's arm. "Okay, off we trot!" that said, he began jogging towards the library while the other three began stalking down to the empty grounds. 


	21. Veritaserum

A/N: wai! Oh, you people are SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOO nice! :D :D :D ;D ;D teehee, and even MORE new reviewers to lock in a cage! *locks new reviewers in cage with other reviewers, who eye them hungrily* oops. Erm. Yeah...  
  
ANYHOOTIES, let's all celebrate the big two-oh! And OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! OMGOMGOMGOMG, I COULD JUST ******DIE******!!!!!!!!!!!!! *runs around in circles screaming* I love you all so much!!! LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YYOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
And a VERY special thankies to: The Sweetest Things ((yeah... pretty certain all my files are corrupted, but ff.net seems to have fixed the problem, so I guess that I was wrong when I assumed that...)) Funness ((ALL FF.N'S FAULT! AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGH!)) Emma ((done? Hah! I won't be done for a VERY long time, my dear, trust me.)) Li-chan ((ah, I'm very very sorry that I didn't get a longer-length chapter. -_- gomen gomen gomen! Thank you!)) Becki ((yea, didja manage to read the REAL chapter 20? Oy, oy, ooooooooooooyyyyyyyyyy.........)) gypsywitch ((why thankyou! ^_^ I am writing, teehee!)) Romm ((nope, I'm an idiot when it comes to computers. Yup, I'm a stupid moron... yup... I'm a moron... *walks of derangedly*)) funki-mage ((uh no fair! I WANNA GO CAMPING! And I updated. Mer her her!)) pixiedust ((oh, garsh, I'm blushing! *blush, blush*)) Goddess of Reviews ((what's with the penname? Cutsie! Yup, I'm updatin'... yup...)) Diiniam ((hum thank you. *^.^* u r so sweet! I lurve all of my reviewers, yup, love 'em to death... which would explain why I've locked you all up in a dark cage and have been feeding you cookies for the past... what?.... month? Can't remember. ^_^ but I love ya'll and that's all that matters!))  
  
TO ANYBODY I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Right! So, with all of that crap out of the way...  
  
Without further ado: chapter twenty-one! It's even shorter than the last chap... I'm really sorry about that. *dinky!* I wasn't quite sure how the potion would affect Hermione, and I don't have a copy of the fourth book. But this is AU, and I didn't want to bother putting the answers to her questions ((as the whole lot of you already know them)) and you already know that Sirius is asking.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Hermione was still staring at the restricted section of the library with a glazed expression when Sirius found her.  
  
He stood behind her for a moment, and tried to figure out what it was she was so interested in.  
  
"Hullo, Granger," he decided after a moment, startling her out of whatever- it-was-she-had-been-thinking-of.  
  
"Sirius!" she cried, for once looking almost happy to see him. "Hey, can you by any chance do me a favor?"  
  
Sirius almost fell over at his luck.  
  
"I'll do you a favor if you do me a favor," he chirped brightly, earning him a reproving look from the librarian.  
  
"What? Okay, you ask me a question and I'll answer it, if I can ask you a question and get a correct answer, too," she offered, dropping into a nearby seat business-like.  
  
He perched on the table next to her.  
  
"Fair enough," he whispered. "How much about the marauders and I do you know about?"  
  
"A pretty good amount," Hermione said, testing her answer.  
  
"Not a good enough answer, Granger,"  
  
"What? Do you want to know something /specific/?"  
  
"Three things that nobody else knows," he nodded.  
  
"Okay. One, you've got a map that shows the whole premises of the school /and/ then some, two, you've got an invisibility cloak, and three, you go by the nicknames of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."  
  
"Quite a few already know number three."  
  
"I just want to ask you a quick favor."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
Hermione dropped her voice even further. "Do you know a way into the restricted section of the library?"  
  
He raised his eyebrows. "What could you want in there?"  
  
"A book," Our Heroine replied innocently.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing Hermione's wrist. "C'mon, follow me," he practically dragged her out of the library.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Once I get some answers, we'll fix up a little date to get that forbidden book you need," he replied mildly, leading her out onto the grounds.  
  
"I don't know if I'll need only one," Hermione said, then went red, dug her heels into the ground, and jerked her wrist out of Sirius' grip. "And I didn't say that I wanted a book out of the restricted section of the library! I just wanted to know if you knew how to get a book from in there, and stuff..."  
  
Sirius raised his eyebrows at her. Again.  
  
"You've alluded to it enough, I know you're looking for something in the restricted section," he leaned forward, "what is it?"  
  
Hermione's face flushed harder. "I'm not telling you that! And I don't want any books from the restricted section of the library!"  
  
He grabbed her wrist, flung her over his shoulder, and began jogging further out onto the empty grounds. "I'll know soon enough. You'll tell me. You will."  
  
"What? Put me down! Where are you taking me?"  
  
He dropped her on the shaded grass under a tree, and her upper back hit the trunk. But the moment she had sat up with homicidal thoughts, something tackled her legs and held them together and down ((sitting on them as well)) and another dropped behind her and grabbed her arms behind her back, locking her wrists in a vice-like grip. She dropped her head back and looked up at him.  
  
Harry.  
  
No, James!  
  
And on her legs was Peter. She jerked her knee into his chin, whilst twisting her wrists madly.  
  
"Hold still, and this'll go by faster," said Remus, who had dropped down just in front of her. Sitting just above Peter, his held her head in one hand while uncorking a threatening-looking vial with the other.  
  
"No! You PERVERTS! What the do you think you're DOING??" She fought harder, to no avail.  
  
"Hurry up, this thing is /stronger/ than she looks!" James grunted when she managed to get a wrist momentarily free.  
  
Remus held her jaw and tipped her head back, quickly managing to get the contents of the small vial between her lips.  
  
For a moment, she thought there had been nothing in it, that this was just a stupid joke... but Lupin hit a pressure point in her neck, causing her to swallow reflexively, and the burning in her throat said that she had just swallowed something.  
  
She panicked and fought even harder, whilst choking and wondering if she could throw whatever-it-was up. Remus jumped to his feet, and a moment later Peter and James had let go and jumped out of the way as well.  
  
Stumbling, Hermione managed to get to her feet before sinking down and slowly leaning against the tree trunk.  
  
A strange feeling of euphoria took over...  
  
"What's your name?" asked a vaguely familiar voice. She stared at the owner, trying to process who it was, while her lips moved and her voice sounded. It sounded... blurred. Like the voices of thousands of people in a big room all murmuring at once; it made no sense. And her vision clouded.  
  
And though she couldn't feel herself ((let alone her mouth)) or hear herself correctly, slipping back into a white warmness that hadn't existed before was much better. She could hear the owner of the voice asking questions, and she knew she was answering, but that didn't matter.  
  
"Are you really a trade student?"  
  
... Bliss...  
  
"Where are you from?"  
  
... Warm...  
  
"What year were you born?"  
  
... Paradise...  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
... Ebullience...  
  
"How?"  
  
...Rapture...  
  
"Why?"  
  
... Ravishment...  
  
"When?"  
  
... Felicity...  
  
"Who?"  
  
... Delirium...  
  
"Who do you know?"  
  
... Enchanting...  
  
"Is there a way for you to get back?"  
  
... Rhapsody...  
  
"Who else knows?"  
  
... Perfection...  
  
"Scared?"  
  
... Felt okay...  
  
"Worried?"  
  
... Lukewarm...  
  
"What would happen if you never got back?"  
  
... Stale...  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
... Cold...  
  
"Why?"  
  
... Don't like this...  
  
"Restricted section, right?"  
  
... Scared...  
  
"Which of us do you know?"  
  
... Pain...  
  
"Are any of us married?"  
  
... Not right...  
  
"Is all of this really true?"  
  
... Stop...  
  
"What's your theory?"  
  
... Stop... Stop... STOP... STOP! ...  
  
"STOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!"  
  
Hermione threw herself forward onto her hands and knees, vomited, and then passed out. 


	22. Flashback

A/N: OMG, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SORRY I AM THAT THERE HAVEN'T BEEN DAILY UPDATES!!! NBO IDEA!! I was unable to log on to my account, but a friend of mine (I ORDER ALL OF YOU TO BOW TO THE SPIFFY MEEPER!!) fixed it up, so NOW you'll be getting updates! I' AM SOOOOO SORRY!!  
  
DisClAImEr: the author ((ILS)) owns only things that are non-canon. Thus, she owns nothing. *^.^* ya think?  
  
RIGHT! So, what chapter is this? Twenty-two? Twenty-one? Somewhere around there? Whatever. I'll stop wasting time and type the chappy already, I promiiiiiiiiise. *stops wasting time and types the chapter*  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
~  
  
For those who want to know what Hermione's answers were. FLASHBACK!! FWEE!! Takes place at the same time as last chapter!! Hurrah!! Therefore this is just a waste of your time, and I can't believe that you actually want to read this. *stares*  
  
~  
  
"What's taking so long?" Peter whined, trying to scramble up the tree for the seventh time. Remus and James where already concealed in the lower branches, so Peter was justified a girlish squeak when Remus's voice sounded directly above him and behind.  
  
"If she doesn't want to come then it'll take Sirius a while to convince her. Just hide behind the trunk and grab her legs," Remus added when Peter attempted to climb the trunk again.  
  
"Yeah. So, how're we gonna do this again?" James's head appeared above Remus's, leaning out far enough to make the branch he was holding on to bend downward.  
  
"You stay near the trunk," Remus began, "and hold her arms behind her back. Peter'll keep her feet still, and if the two of you can't keep a fifteen year old girl down long enough to be force-fed poison, I'm certain that Sirius will be all-too obliging to help."  
  
"And, erm, how are you going to "force-feed" her "poison"?" James asked, voice muffled slightly as he crawled back in place.  
  
"Pressure points in the neck," Remus replied absentmindedly. "Look! There they are!"  
  
"Ready, Wormtail?" James asked.  
  
Sirius had Our Heroine by the wrist and was leading her, somewhat serenely, towards the tree. Abruptly, Hermione jerked her wrist out of Sirius's grasp, and stepped back, apparently telling him off about something.  
  
"Oh, geeze, hurry up," James moaned when the two stopped and talked. "Oh, okay, that's better..."  
  
Sirius had just grabbed Hermione and flung her over his shoulder, jogging towards the hiding trio.  
  
"Get ready," Remus breathed, watching as Sirius and a struggling Hermione came closer.  
  
Sirius dropped her at the trunk, and she bounced backward slightly, beginning to push herself up.  
  
Peter leapt around the tree before she had recovered, though, and wrapped himself like a blanket around her knees, cursing as she slammed a knee reflexively into his chin. James saw the opening and dropped down from the tree, grinning, and grasped her wrists, twisting them behind her back, as Remus dropped smoothly beside an impressed-looking Sirius and planted himself firmly on her waist.  
  
"Hold still, this'll go by faster," Remus said. "No! you PERVERTS! What do you think you're DOING?" Hermione cried, and must've smacked James with an elbow, because he said: "Hurry up, this thing is stronger than she looks!" Remus finally caught her chin, and uncorked the vial with his teeth, managing to get her to swallow the contents. Once that was done, he practically ran off back beside Sirius. James and Peter followed suit.  
  
"That was easier than I expected," Sirius murmured. Remus gave him a dirty look.  
  
She jerked to her feet, glancing wildly around before sinking slowly to her knees, and falling back against the tree trunk with a somewhat-goofy grin. Her normally sharp brown eyes widened, becoming almost colorless.  
  
"There ya go, mate," James panted, sinking to a sitting position.  
  
"Try asking her name first." Remus ordered anxiously.  
  
Sirius crouched down in front of Hermione.  
  
"What's your name?" he asked loudly and clearly.  
  
"Hermione Granger." Came the reply, somewhat thickly as her lips were left a little slack. She gazed blankly at nothing.  
  
"Guess that's her real name," Sirius said, looking back at James, Remus, and a still panting Peter.  
  
"Well, ask away."  
  
"I don't know what to ask now," Sirius murmured. He considered a moment, and then turned back to Hermione.  
  
"Are you really a trade student?"  
  
"No."  
  
"That's a surprise," James snorted.  
  
"Where are you from?" Sirius went on, ignoring his best friend.  
  
She named some Muggle place.  
  
"Where's that?" Peter asked, but Hermione didn't answer him.  
  
"What year were you born?"  
  
"1980."  
  
"What?" Remus and James chorused.  
  
"That's weird," Sirius noted, looking back at Remus and raising his eyebrows. "What, did we make a mistake?"  
  
"No." Remus said stiffly, looking somewhat insulted.  
  
"How old are you?" Sirius asked, looking back at the prone girl on the ground before him.  
  
"Fifteen."  
  
"How?" Sirius asked, aiming the question at the three behind him. Hermione answered, however.  
  
"I'm from the future."  
  
All four boys were quite startled at this announcement. Hermione's face, which was completely relaxed, broke back into that small goofy smile. She continued to stare at nothing with blank eyes.  
  
"That's not possible," James said firmly.  
  
"Why not?" Peter asked softly, also staring into space, although this look was normal for him.  
  
"Didn't catch that, sorry, Wormtail," Sirius said cheerfully.  
  
"WHY?" Peter repeated loudly, looking at Sirius. Whatever Sirius might have said in reply, though, was lost as Hermione answered:  
  
"Because I was pushed back in time."  
  
"What?" Remus asked dumbly; Hermione didn't seem to hear him. Her stupid grin flickered, but just for a moment.  
  
"When?" James asked loudly.  
  
"Two months ago in 1995."  
  
"By, erm, who pushed you?" James asked. he wasn't gifted an answer.  
  
"Who?" Remus said for him.  
  
"Malfoy."  
  
"Malfoy? You mean, that first-year blond that idolizes Snivellus?" James turned to Remus, asking without words for a logical explanation.  
  
"No, hey, maybe this Malfoy guy has a kid, and his kid pushed her...? Or maybe he's a teacher?" Sirius suggested, once more turning away from Hermione.  
  
Remus nodded his affirmative. "Yeah, that's probably right.  
  
"Well, waddaya know," James laughed. Hermione, apparently, took this as a "who do you know".  
  
"A lot of people. Students and teachers and others."  
  
"Well, gee," James muttered sarcastically.  
  
"Is there a way for her to get back?" Peter wondered aloud. "I mean, if she really is from the future?"  
  
"Is there a way for you to get back?" Sirius asked, facing Hermione once more.  
  
"Not sure."  
  
"If she is from the future, then Dumbledore will know how to send her back." Remus murmured. "Er, that is, if he knows. I'm sure he does."  
  
"Who else knows?" James asked, leaning forward so that Hermione would hear the question clearly.  
  
"Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey."  
  
"See?" Remus asked, allowing himself a brief self-satisfactory smile. "And I bet she's scared, too."  
  
"Scared?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Worried?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"What would happen if you never got back?" Remus asked, the idea instantly occurring to him.  
  
"I'd die." Hermione's shadowed eyes flickered.  
  
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, trying to fathom why she would die.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why?" James put in.  
  
"I don't belong in this timeline. If the Aftermath effects don't kill me, Time will itself."  
  
"Come off it, that isn't true," Peter looked to Remus, though.  
  
"It's probably possible. It could be looked up in the library...."  
  
"Restricted section, right?" Sirius asked cheerfully, remembering that Hermione had been staring just there.  
  
"Yes." Hermione answered; it was soft, so the four boys jumped slightly.  
  
"Well, hey, if she's from the future.. Maybe she knows what's going to happen to us!" James said, breaking off topic slightly.  
  
"Yeah, hey, that'd be cool!" Sirius said happily - he turned back to Our Heroine.  
  
"Which of us to you know?"  
  
"Lupin, Black, Pettigrew. Not really personally, though."  
  
"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said, laughing.  
  
"Really!" Remus snapped. "It's not our place to-"  
  
"Are any of us married?" James asked, ignoring Remus.  
  
"Only one I think."  
  
"Is all of this really true?" Remus asked loudly.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, she's definitely telling the truth...."  
  
"What's your theory for her lying?" Peter asked.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
" 'What's your theory?' ?"  
  
"That I might find a way to get back in a book from the Restricted Section. If it's dangerous or life-threatening, Dumbledore wouldn't tell me." Hermione answered. Her face contorted.  
  
Sirius was about to ask her something else, but just as he opening his mouth, Hermione threw herself forward, screaming "NO!" at the top of her lungs, and threw up the Veritaserum before passing out cold.  
  
~ 


	23. Feeling Anger

A/N: *sings* love me, love me, say that you love me, leave me, leave me, just say that you need me.. *stops singing* AHH!! You DON'T hate me!! OMG!! OMG!! I FEEL SO..... Honored..  
  
Err, where was I? Oh, yes: first off, I want to apologize again for my extreme lack of updates. The time I have spent NOT updating this fic is a very shameful amount, and I am ashamed to say that I am ashamed. I do not deserve to live. *sobs and hides face in shame whilst preparing for first day of school* *hates school* *with a passion* 0_O let's form a mob and hunt down whomever it was that invented school! AND YOU AREN'T BOWING ON BENDED KNEE TO THE SPIFFY MEEPER! *realizes Reviewers are cramped* oh, yeah, cage... I forgot...  
  
AAAAAAAND a special thank-you to - to those who were fast enough to catch chap.22 before I posted this one! MUAHA! Honolulu ((you still think this is interesting - oh, SOB!! I think Hermy might be a bit pissed... *hugs*)) Zeriae ((so sorry it was so short - but I'm glad I made you happy! XD)) tigerkat1000 ((I'm so sorry! SORRY! I am, I truly hope I haven't offended you! *cower*)) Uozumi ((*pounces* I LOVE YOU!! I FEEL SO HAPPY-HAPPY-JOY- JOY THAT YOU'RE READING!! AND DIDN'T ABANDON THIS FICLET!! AHHHHH! *is sobbing in happiness to much to stuff brownies, cookies, and cakes in Uozumi's mouth* *settles for handing them to her instead* THANK YOU!!!!!)) Laerai ((ooh, you think my theories are well thought out? *is flattered beyond all belief* wowie! That's more than my teachers give me! my HERO!! *tackles*)) Goddess of Reviews ((you're STILL HERE!! Wee! After Hermy's done pissing at the marauders, I'll get my coupling on track V.V geeze, it's taking me long enough, isn't it? twenty-three chapters and the only romance has been a small snog in a dream that was despised anyway. ^_^0 ahh, I am annoying myself, tho... *hugs*)) Lady Prongs ((WEE! Yay! Somebody else looking forward to scary-mode-Hermy!! XD let's just say that I feel sorry for Sirius. Let's all take a moment to feel sorry for Sirius. *takes a moment to feel sorry for Sirius* YAAAAY! You even said "until next time" Oh, YAY! *hugs*)) nunnya buiznes ((updating... AHH! Somebody else to review mah story! SOMEBODY NEW LYYYRVES IT! FWEE!!)) Moon Fairy2 ((yup! ^_^ go Hermy!! She's got a will of steel... ah... I'll have to fix that... maybe have Sirius-chan melt it down a bit, brake her heart a few times, fall in love with her, kiss on her, then forget all about her when she goes to the future again... BUT DOES HE? Will I even get her back? I've got a vague plan, but it really doesn't work if the readers are paying attention... *looks over review-response* meep. I was musing! MY STUPID MUSES ARE BREAKING FREEEEE!! So sorry. I am scaring you, ne?)) The Spiffy Meeper ((AAAAAHHHHH!! MAH HEEEEEEEEERROOOOOOOOOO!!!!! *hugs, cookies, cakes, and angel food cake* you have, like, NO idea how much I LURVE you to DEATH!!)) Adel ((FWEE! Peace out seeya on the flip side!)) Becki ((ooh, really? You think so? Goody!! ^_^" lol)) A.L. Lorraine ((yup, but she hasn't told by choice. ~_~ poor gurl. She won't remember at first, though.)) funki-mage ((ohh, you're so nice *sniffles* not holding it against me.. you are just so nice. . . *sob*)) anybody else I missed, thank you!!  
  
Sorry that this chapter is so short....  
  
*puts all reviewers in new cage* *this one has pillows!* *locks cage anyway*  
  
ENOUGH BLABBER!! New chappy!!  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
The first thing Our Heroine felt, as she swam back to the World of the Living, was one major pounding headache. Next was a terribly dry and sore throat, followed by the aching of every muscle.  
  
In short, she had no desire to wake up.  
  
Groaning slightly, she gave up on any more painless sleep and forced her eyes open.  
  
It was dark out - she lay in a bed, with the hangings cracked open slightly so that moonlight spilled across her face.  
  
Slowly, so as not to make her thumping head thump even more, she sat up and looked around dizzily.  
  
Feeling a sudden bout of sickness in the back of her throat, she made a funny noise and found a bathroom rather closely, making good use of the toilet as she emptied her stomach's contents.  
  
NOW her throat and head and stomach hurt even MORE, and she felt very grumpy about this.  
  
"You done?" asked a semi-tired sounding voice. Hermione spun around but fell backwards as she was still very dizzy. Four boys stood there, looking over her - one, with black hair falling in his eyes, came over and gently picked her up.  
  
They were talking in whispers - all four boys. She caught her name every now and then, but after a while she stopped trying to figure out who they were and let the one holding her carry her out and down the halls, finally coming to a halt in a semi-lit hospital wing.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey?" the boy called.  
  
He sounded familiar. Extremely familiar. Sounded almost like... Sirius Black...  
  
Here is where it all came crashing back, piece by piece. Head already pained as it was, Our Heroine didn't register these memories until the pain had dulled a bit. She realized she'd been crying silently, for some time now.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!?" Roared a voice, snapping like a whip through Hermione's brain and causing white hot lights to erupt before her eyes. The pain wasn't lessened when somebody else snatched her out of Sirius's arms and put her on a bed, berating him while he argued back.  
  
Eventually, everything quieted, and Hermione swallowed a potion with difficulty.  
  
Sighing, she fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
.  
  
When Our Heroine woke up, the only sort of pain she felt was a dull throb in her temples, and sore muscles. Slowly, she turned her head and saw Madame Pomfrey, grumbling to herself as she set a girl's broken wrist. When that was done, she turned and saw Hermione awake.  
  
"Hello, dear." She said kindly (and quietly) coming over. "Are you hungry? You've been out for quite a few days, now..."  
  
Our Heroine tried to say something like "yes, please" or "no, thank you" but the only sound she made was a dry squeak - her throat was dry, and sore when she tried to swallow.  
  
"Ah, I understand," Pomfrey said, and bustled a bit before helping Hermione to sit up and swallow a small vial of something that did two things:  
  
First, it made her throat feel better, her head stop hurting, and her muscles relax.  
  
Second, the vial reminded her of something. She tried to remember...  
  
"You somehow ingested a bunch of different poisons," Pomfrey told her briskly. "I'd like to question you on how this came to be, but your memory of the past few days will be a bit fuzzy. Get some food, and sleep, and you ought to remember everything by tomorrow.  
  
"Okay," Hermione decided, testing her voice.  
  
Pomfrey went off to get some food, and while she was away, Lily came with Carrie and sat by Hermione's bedside tearfully.  
  
"Oh, Hermy," she sniffed, "I was so worried, you know? You've been sleeping nonstop for almost a week now, you know? Even Dumbledore came to check up on you and talk to Madame Pomfrey, you know? And I've been trying to chase away those, those, those marauders, but they insist on seeing you too, you know? Oh, Herms, I'm so glad you're awake!"  
  
And she leapt forward, embracing Our Heroine tightly.  
  
Carrie just settled back, not seeming to care either way, and rather bored- looking.  
  
"I can't remember what happened," Hermione gasped out. "Pomfrey says my memory will be fuzzy for a while, though.."  
  
"Yeah. You swallowed a whole bunch of poisons, you know? Oh, Herms, you know that suicide is not the answer, you know?" Lily's eyes once again brimmed with tears, which fell down her cheeks.  
  
"W-what? Suicide? No, wait, Lily, you must be mistaken, I would never.."  
  
"You can't remember, remember?" Lily sniffled. "oh, MIONE!!" she leapt and hugged Our Heroine tightly again.  
  
Hermione, however, frowned in a troubled sort of way. No.. no, she wouldn't have..  
  
.  
  
The next morning, when Our Heroine woke up, she gazed at the ceiling blankly before remembering everything that had happened.  
  
For a moment, she stayed in a sort of shock, unsure as to how she should react.  
  
Finally, anger took over, and Madame Pomfrey was the first to see her awake.  
  
First to see her half dressed and slamming through the doors with murderous thoughts, too.  
  
"GRANGER! GET BACK HERE, YOU ARE NOT WELL!!" Pomfrey cried, and shot out after her.  
  
She needn't have, however, as Hermione had run straight into Dumbledore.  
  
"Ah, Miss Granger. Glad to see you up and about," he told her cheerfully, steering her protestingly back into the hospital wing and into her still- warm bed.  
  
"Professor," she sputtered. "Let me go! I'm going to kill them!" she added, in case he wanted to know why she had just tried to run out of the hospital half-dressed.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"THE MARAUDERS! THEY FED ME FAULTY VERITASERUM, MADE ME SICK, COULD HAVE *KILLED* ME, AND I'M NOW GOING TO *KILL* THEM!!!"  
  
"And what did they ask?" the bearded man asked mildly, as though asking about the weather.  
  
"About where I was from and when I was born and stuff," she replied, still trying to get out and do some killing. "LET ME GO!"  
  
"Ah, but now they know," he replied. "They're dead-loyal, don't you know? They've done you a favor... you could find some close friends in those four boys."  
  
"Never!" Hermione gasped, staring at him.  
  
"Now, now. I shall deal with the boys and their illegal potion-making shortly. But we have things to discuss. Important matters, concerning yourself."  
  
Our Heroine slowly calmed down, and stopped trying to get up. "Have. . . Have you found a way. . .?"  
  
"Not yet," the old Professor murmured, stroking his beard. "Not quite yet. But, apparently, the me from you time has found a way to send things back in time, using a special time-turner from the ministry. This timeturner hasn't been invented here, and each trip it makes back in time, it'll appear right back in you time. Strange, I was told in a letter from myself not to ponder it, so I won't. anyway, here," Dumbledore handed Hermione a small box.  
  
"What?" she asked softly.  
  
"Letters from your friends," he told her quietly. "I am still trying to find a way to send you forward, and now that things - not living things, I am told to understand - can be sent back and forth, you'll be back home in no time."  
  
"T... thank you," Hermione squeaked.  
  
Dumbledore smiled and opened his mouth as though to say more, but shut it again, and got up to leave. "Poppy," he said with a mild smile, "when miss Granger wishes, let her leave. She has an excuse to leave classes the rest of the day, and she has all weekend to make up her missed work."  
  
That said, he turned and disappeared. Pomfrey looked as though she thought he was ludicrous, but sniffed airily, glanced at Hermione, and turned to tend to a crying boy that had just come in covered in blood. 


End file.
